Screaming
by RinAi4Ever
Summary: Dmitri Armstrong, cousin to Alex Louis Armstrong. Join her as she attempts to find her own 'Truth' in the twisted wreckage she call's a life. Rated for violence, language, sexual themes, and mentions of rape in the 'past-tense'. Not to mention Roy Mustangs Ego. Somebody pop that thing before it gets infected. Seriously.
1. First Encounter

Chapter 1- not sure what my intent with this story is, but I hope you enjoy it. Set during the Manga. I do not own FMA, or its characters. I only own my OC's, including Dmitri :D

Enjoy!

* * *

"Damn mining community... didn't even get to finish my drink, those wankers..." A girl, maybe 13 by the look's of her, with platinum blond hair and dark indigo eyes stretched out atop a couple of empty booze barrels. " For a town with no money, they seemed able to afford their drink. "Can't feed our kids, but we sure can drink our worries away..." maybe if I wasn't a state alchemist, I'd come to like living here..."

The tavern she set behind seemed more lively than normal, the men and women inside cheering joyously. The hell where they doing in there? Seeing who could pull the most rock dust out of their belly buttons? One voice in particular seemed to cut through all the others, shouting about "expensive things" and "being short". "Sound's like a fun party..."

The sound suddenly cut off inside the tavern making the girl raise one finely manicured brow. "GET OUT!" The sound of a human and a scrap-heap landing none-to-gracefully on the hard dirt road met her ears making a few worry lines appear on her forehead.

"HEY! We're customers!" It was the white noise piercing voice that had shouted. This made the girl shimmy off the barrels and peek around the side of the building to see what all the fuss was about; it wasn't often anything interesting happened around here. She saw on the ground at the foot of the tavern stairs a short boy (who might have beat her in height by two inches... damn it) wearing a dark red coat, a pair of boots that where black along with his pants and shirt, and white gloves. He had long golden blond hair braided at the nap of his neck and fell just to his shoulder blades, with his bangs falling gently on either side of his face, partly obscuring his rich golden eyes. Beside him was the source of that metallic clatter she had heard. This person (couldn't tell if it was a man or woman really) was much taller than the blond-haired boy, and wore a suit made entirely of armor with a light blue loincloth around his middle that fell to mid-thigh..._ weirdo's..._

"We don't have any meals or bed's for a dog of the military!" The inn keeper shouted from the door, a crowd of miners standing behind him. All where glaring daggers of hate towards the blond and his odd companion, that is until the armored person raised their hand to gain everyone's attention... _this is going to be good..._

"Umm, excuse me; I'm a normal person! I'm not a national anything!" The girl, and the blonde boy nearly fell over in exasperation, with the later calling the one in armor a traitor.

"Oh really? Come on in!" The inn keeper said, all but dragging the one in armor back into the tavern and slamming the door shut on the poor blonds face. Poor guy.

The girl sighed, her shoulder falling in defeat as the blond boy stared open-mouthed at the door of the tavern. "W-what the hell just happened?" He asked out loud. He jumped in surprise when someone actually answered him.

"You opened your mouth and spilled the beans about who you are, that's what happened." The girl said before stepping out from the side of the building and making her way towards the blond boy who gaped up at her in confusion.

"Who the heck are you?!" The blond demanded as he got to his feet. The girl smirked, shoving her hands into the pockets of her to large black hoodie.  
"The names Dmitri Armstrong" The blond boy bit back a laugh making Dmitri level out her face into a glare that could kill. "Something funny?" She practically growled out. The blond boy bit his knuckle to keep himself from laughing.

"D-Dmitri? That's a *pft* interesting name-YIKES!" The blond boy fall's back to the ground as his legs get kicked out from underneath him. Seconds later he is staring into the barrel of a huge gun; like, ten times bigger than him, looks like it weighs hundreds of pounds, gun. The girl grits her teeth, left hand on the trigger and her right hand up on the side of the huge gun holding it in place.

"Any last words?!"

"WHAT THE HELL?! Where where you hiding that thing?!" Dmitri smiles evilly, her eyes glinting with madness as she puts a little pressure on the trigger much to the boys horror.

"If I told you I'd have to bring you back from the dead after this so I could kill you again-"

"Brother?" Dmitri and the blond boy jerked their heads towards the confused, echo voice, to find the tall armored person standing at the top of the stairs with a small tray of food in their hand. "Ummm... did I miss something?" Dmitri sighs, her blood lust already waning; what was the point of killing someone if you didn't enjoy it?

"No; we where just talking." Dmitri said calmly making the blond boy growl.

He jumped to his feet, pointing an incriminating finger at her. "The hell we where! You where about to blow me into little tiny bits with that ridiculous gun- where the hell did it go?!" The blond boy looked high and low, searching for the monstrous gun. It couldn't have vanished into thin air, right? Right?!

"She disassembled it using alchemy," the armored person said making Blondie gap at Dmitri who was smirking cockily. "That's what you did, right?" Dmitri chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"You caught me!" She said pulling out a glass vial that looked to have a black powder inside of it. "In this vial are all the ingredients to make my precious baby; I use alchemy to build her, and then again to put her away." Dmitri laughed right out at the dumbfounded look on the bonds face. "Where the hell did you think I was keeping it?"

A light blush came over the blonds face as he began to stammer and stumble over his words. "Well, ah, you see-"

"Pervert." Dmitri said with a smirk making the blonds face go bright red. The armored person giggled much to Dmitri's enjoyment.

"Don't laugh at me Al, you where thinking the same thing I was!" The blond said with a glare towards the armored one.

"And that would be?" Al said in a teasing tone making the blond growl and turn away from them, his arms crossed over his chest and his nose up in the air snootily. However, it seemed the blush was hard to get rid of as his cheeks where still moderately pink.

"It doesn't matter anymore!" Dmitri sighed as a loud grumble came from the blond's stomach. "Damn it... I'm hungry..." The blond mumbled under his breath. As if suddenly remembering who he was, Al hurried over to the blond's side and offered him the tray of food.

"Here; I can't eat it, so I saved it for you..." Dmitri lifted a brow; why couldn't Al eat the food? Did he think it's been poisoned?

"LITTLE BROTHER!" The blond said as he hugged the larger Al around the middle, his small arms not even making it half way around the armor. "YOU'RE A LIFE SAVER!" Al sighed in exasperation. Dmitri reached over and grabbed the sandwich on the tray, splitting it in half much to the shock of the two brothers.

"HEY! Get your own food!" The blond reached for her only to have her foot meet him in the face.

"Consider this payback for laughing at me, seeing as how I was unable to kill you." The blond groaned and fell over, his eyes dizzy from the impact of her boots to his skull.

"Uh, brother...?" Dmitri took a bite of her half of the sandwich and knelt over the blonde, poking him with the index finger of her free hand.

"Did I kill him?" The blond twitched slightly making Dmitri chuckle. "Nope, he's still alive."

* * *

Some time later the blond woke up, spitting and hissing at Dmitri like a pissed off cat. "What the hell did you have to go and do that for?!" Dmitri sighed, leveling at him with a terrifying glare.

"If you don't shut up and eat your half I'll eat it for you..." The blond gulped, grabbing his half of the food and shoving it into his mouth with a small "yes ma'am". Dmitri huffed before sitting down on the steps with her back towards the two brothers. "So, you're the Elric brothers." Al nodded his head. "And you, in the armor, you're Alphonse while you in the red, your Edward."

"That's right." Dmitri slumps over, her face that of pure disrepair.

"Why- why did he do this to me?! I'm not cut out for this kind of work; I don't play well with others!" Dmitri wailed out as if in terrible pain making both brothers jump in surprise.

"Ummm- are you ok?" Ed asked with uncertainty. Dmitri turns around faster than either boy could react, grabbing hold of the Ed's shoulders and getting within inches of his face.

"DO I LOOK OK TO YOU?!" Ed stutters in shock as Dmitri collapses into his lap, laying limply over his right thigh. "He's doing this to me on purpose; making me "play nice" with the other kids! And what's more, he made me come sooooo early! I mean, yeah, I had to come here anyway, but why did I have to wait so damn long for you two!? I mean, he had to have known you where running behind-!"Dmitri sat up a little, fire burning in her eyes as she held up a threatening fist. "I bet he knew all along that little bastard-"

"What the hell are you going on about?!" Ed shouted, cutting off Dmitri's rant.

"Who told you to meet us here?" Al asked cautiously; Dmitri obviously wasn't in her right mind and it was starting to make him a little nervous.

"That rat bastard Mustang, that's who!" Ed's eyes widened considerably. "He told me to meet you guys here nearly four months ago; said I was to "keep an eye on you", or something like that." Dmitri pull's a shiny silver pocket watch out of nowhere, swinging it in the blonds face. "I mean, at first I was suspicious when I heard Al's name, but it must be true if you're carrying this!" Ed snatched the watch away from her, opening it for a moment before closing it again aggressively.

"How the hell did you get that?! And what does Mustang think he's playing at?" Dmitri sighed, pulling away from Ed as if she had suddenly been burnt. Her face was back to normal, and any evidence of the large tears she had shed was gone.

"Mustang assigned me to be your baby sitter; he sent me out here nearly 4 months ago to meet with the two of you, and to do a routine inspection of the town. How ever, I'm not sure what Roy could have sent you two out here to do."

"WHAT?!" Ed exclaimed, an irritation mark appearing on the side of his head. "We came here on a whim! That bastards been watching our every move!" Dmitri sighed, her shoulders slumping considerably.

"So he didn't even know that you two would be coming here... I really hate that man sometimes..." Dmitri said making Ed and Al both nod in agreement. "But, even if it is late in coming, I am glad you two are here; while doing my inspection I have come to notice a few things about this place, namely the condition that the people are forced to live and work in." Al jumped in then, enlightening Ed to what Dmitri and himself had discussed while Ed lay unconscious.

"There are corrupt agents here; because of them, the town's people can't get enough food." Ed stopped mid chew, his eyes falling half mast at the information. "That's why they kicked you out; everyone hates the military here, more so than whats normal for this time." Dmitri nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the people here are most unwelcoming to our kind here; even those who resent their enlistment to the military are like scum to these people." Dmitri thought back to the bitter-sweet rum taken away from her so harshly... ok, it was only because she is under age, but still! Those scoundrels! "I have yet to speak one on one with the First Lieutenant that runs this place; I was hoping, Ed, that you could come as my back up of sorts-?"

"-UT OF THE WAY!" Dmitri, Ed and Al all peeked over their shoulders as a new commotion started up inside the tavern. Dmitri and Al snuck over to the door, peaking in through the small opening the uneven wood provided. At the back of the room near the back entrance stood two burly looking men in standard military uniforms and one scrawny, snobbish man wearing the same uniform with a few extra buttons and metals on it showing his rank.  
"First lieutenant..." Dimitri mumbled under her breath drawing Ed's attention. He wedged his way between Dmitri and the door, staying low enough that she could still see over Ed's head.

"It's you First Lieutenant. Welcome to this filthy place." The inn keeper said sarcastically. Every civilian in the room was sporting one of two looks; hatred and disgust. The scrawny First Lieutenant scoffed, his partially bald head shinning in the dull candle light of the room as he made his way to stand just before the counter.

"Nice greeting." The First Lieutenant said, arrogance laced through his voice like poison. The Lieutenant wagged his finger as if scolding a child. "It seems that this place isn't paying its taxes. How ever this does not stop at you; I could say that same for everyone in this town."

"I apologize; I can't do anything about our pay being low." The inn keeper said, his frustration barely restrained in his tightly clipped words. The Lieutenant looks around the room, a sharp frown coming to pull at his thin lips.

"Hmph, and yet, there is more than enough to just enjoy alcohol? Which means, it would be acceptable if I lowered your income a little-?" Every towns person in the room gasped or shouted in outrage.

"What?! We already can't feed ourselves-"

"What about the children?!"

"We can't afford your taxes at it is-!"

A boy, no older than 9, growled and threw a dirty bar rag to the First Lieutenant, the offending material landing square in the Lieutenant's face.  
"DON'T PUSH US AROUND!" The boy shouted furiously. Before anyone could react the First Lieutenant struck the child across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground. The inn keeper, and consequentially the boy's father, reached towards the boy as if to run to his aid.

"Kayal!"

"You little runt!" One of the brutish grunts shouted as he drew his sword from its scabbard.

"Don't give him any mercy because he's a child." The First Lieutenant said angrily and he motioned for his grunt to attack. The big man raised his blade above his head. "This is a warning to you all; you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you!" The brute shifts his weight and brings the blade down, his aim for the neck of the boy who lay cowering on the floor. The boy finches, awaiting the end of his life. The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the room followed by the sound of a cocking shotgun and shifting armor.

Dmitri pushed the barrel of her shot-gun to the back of the First Lieutenants head while Ed blocked the sword with his auto-mail arm, the impact breaking the blade in two. Al stood behind the other brute, lifting him off the ground by that back of his uniform.

"You're causing a lot of trouble tonight, First Lieutenant Yoki..." Dmitri said calmly, breaking the sudden silence.

"W-who- who are these ruffians?!" The grunt being held by Al shouted as he struggled against the big boys hold. First Lieutenant shook with mild fear at the feeling of the cold barrel against his head.

"T-this has nothing to do with you! S-stay out of it!" Ed snickered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his state alchemist pocket watch, flashing it at the first Lieutenant who paled at the sight of it.

"Nah, I saw the first Lieutenant, so I figured we should stop in and say "hi", right Dmitri?" Dmitri lowers her gun allowing the First Lieutenant to scuttle away from her. She took the moment to reach into her own pocket and produce a pocket watch identical to Eds much to the blondes surprise. First Lieutenant Yoki paled as he set eyes on Dmitri, recognition sending a small shiver down his spine.

"Of course, it would have been rude for us to drop in without giving you a proper greeting."

"M-Major Armstrong...!?"

* * *

And so endth the chapter... What do you think of Dmitri and her alchemy? Honestly, I came up with the idea on a whim; I knew I wanted her to use guns, but I didn't want her to carry one around with her out in the open. Her clothing (tank top, shorts, loose hoodie and combat boots) make it hard to hide a gun, so I figured that vial's containing the ingredients to make the guns would work out just fine and are easy to carry in her pocket.


	2. Shenanigans

Yo... I have nothing to say. So, enjoy I guess...

* * *

"Please excuse my subordinates; they had no idea they where in the presence of two fine State Alchemist' such as yourselves!" Ed eyed the food before him suspiciously. The meal consisted of bone in ribs, creamy mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, all set on a plate so fancy he was almost scared to touch it. A serving maid came by and filled his glass with warm tea. For a town that was so poor, their mayor seemed to be living the good life. "Don't hold back, please eat."

"Don't mind if we do, Yoki." Dmitri said as she entered the room, her hair damp from the quick shower she had requested upon arrival.

"Ah, Major! Did you enjoy the baths?" Yoki asked exuberantly. Dmitri shrugs as she takes a seat beside Ed, leisurely braiding her hair over her left shoulder.

"They where secure and had clean water." Was her simple, blunt answer. Yoki grimaced a little at her tone, but tried to hid his annoyance by beckoning over one of the many maids that stood at hand, a crystal flask in her hand.

"May I offer you a drink? This is a special kind of wine from the far east made from the finest rice." Dmitri takes the whole flask from the maid, much to Yoki and the maids shock, and sniff's the contents. She then takes a small swig of it, tasting the bitter alcohol on her tongue.

"Not to bad." Dmitri says after a minute, taking a slightly larger drink straight from the flask. "You're to kind, Yoki." Ed grimaced as the smell of the alcohol reached his nose; it smelled like nothing he had encountered before, and while it wasn't horrible, the smell seemed to leave a bad taste in the back of his throat. He could only imagine how it really tasted. Yoki seemed more then a little peeved at Dmitri's behavior, but said nothing as she began to eat the food that was placed before her. "Don't be rude Elric. Yoki and his staff have gone to great lengths to put together this meal for us. You should eat what is offered to you." Ed roll's his eyes, stabbing his fork into a steamed carrot.

"We're eating good stuff, considering the state of the town." Ed said before putting his stabbed food into his mouth. Perfectly cooked; Yoki's chef was truly talented. Such talent comes with a high price tag.

"It is embarrassing to talk about, but I am having difficulty collecting taxes." Yoki said hopelessly. Dmitri hid and eye roll as she took another drink from the flask, biting back on a grimace; honestly, the drink was terrible, but it was better then nothing, and she wasn't one to complain. "In addition, there are many ruffians like the ones from earlier. Hahaha, yes, it really is embarrassing!"

"So," Ed started, dabbing his face with his napkin. "They insist they have rights, while not paying their taxes."

"That seem's to be the case." Dmitri said in agreement as she leaned back into the cushion of her chair crossing her legs and examining her nails as if bored. Ed eyed her plate, noting that she had only taken a couple bites before calling if quits. And here she was calling him rude for not eating...

"That's correct. You two are rather smart." Yoki said, his tone thick with false admiration. "Madam Armstrong, is the food not to you're liking?"

Dmitri shook her head, a small frown tugging a the corners of her mouth. "Not at all; it is rich, and uptight for my tastes. I'm afraid that all this high quality living is giving me indigestion." Ed stuff's a piece of meat into his mouth to stop himself from snickering. Yoki blanches, his left brow ticking as he eyes Dmitri distastefully.

"My apologies Major." He replies tightly before turning his attention towards Ed, intent on ignoring the other Alchemist as much as possible.

"You see Yoki, all logic in the world can be represented by the basis of Alchemy, "Equivalent Exchange". Privilege comes with duty." Ed said, trying to get the conversation back on track. Yoki's sour expression towards Dmitri turns into a smile of understanding.

"I see, I see. Wonderful; I wonder, if you will accept this as "logic"" Yoki reaches to his left and rings a tiny bell. Dmitri sits up straight as a butler comes into the room carrying a tray with two small money bags atop it.

"...I want that bell..." Dmitri grumbles as Yoki set's the bell back down on the table. Ed raises a brow at her in confusion before his attention is stolen by the small money bag that now sits before him.

"Sir Edward, Madam Armstrong, because the two of you are national Alchemist', it is thought that you would have influence with the higher-ups." Yoki said as Dmitri scrunches up her nose in distaste at the money bag, picking it up and depositing it somewhere unknown on her person. Ed picks his up as well between his thumb and forefinger, giggling that sack a little.

"This is the so-called "bribe", huh?" Dmitri scoff's, crossing her arms and legs again in agitation.

"Only the lowest of the low will actually accept a bribe."

"Then why the hell did you already stash your's?! And where do you hide all this crap anyways?" Ed snapped at her making her snicker. She leans in close to Ed, and talks in a low voice directly into his ear.

"Want to give me a pat down, Fullmetal? You might be surprised what you find, and where." Ed's face goes up in flames as he back pedals away from the strange girl.

"W-what the hell is wrong with you!?" Dmitri pull's back and snickers before taking another drink. The sound of a clearing throat brought them back to the situation at hand. Dmitri sighs dramatically.

"Right; the bribe. What is it exactly that you wan't from us, Yoki."

"Well, I do not want to end my life as a petty official of a hick town like this." Yoki said making Dmitri's look darken further. "You do understand?"

Dmitri growls making Ed jump in surprise. "Oh I understand. Understand that you're a piece of shi-!" Ed reaches over and clasp's his right hand over Dmitri's mouth, stopping her from insulting Yoki further and possibly getting them kicked out.

"Sorry about my partner; she get's this way when she's had to much to drink." Ed say's smoothly making Dmitri growl again. Ed suddenly pull's back as Dmitri sinks her teeth into his palm. Yoki, looking startled at Dmitri's outburst, nods his head in understanding.

"Perhaps we should retire for the night; my officer's will show you to your room's." Ed nod's, fine with the arrangements before Dmitri steps in, seeming much calmer then she was a moment ago.

"Room. My partner and I prefer to stay in the same lodgings. It is the easiest and safest way for us to travel, and I'm afraid we've grown quite accustomed to it." Ed gap's at her while she says all of this with a straight face and a no-nonsense tone. Yoki stared at them wide eyed, his gaze flickering between the two before he clears his throat and nods his head.

"Very well; my one wish is to ensure you enjoy your visit." Yoki snaps his fingers and two uniformed men come into the room. "These men will escort you to your room." Ed and Dmitri take their leave with Yoki close behind them. The First Lieutenant bows at his waist to the two Alchemist' as he bids them a good night. "Please, rest peacefully."

* * *

Dmitri fall's with a thump onto the single bed, a scowl present on her face. "Perverted old man; giving us a room with one bed! I bet he has some kind of observance in here, so he can watch us and jerk off." Ed grunts in annoyance, ignoring her perverted comment for the time being.

"If you had kept your mouth shut, we would be sleeping in our own rooms tonight. What the hell where you thinking anyways, going along with him about us being partners? We only met tonight!" Ed said as he laid his red coat over the back of one of the large, comfy looking couches.

"I don't like the feel of this place, and while we may have only met tonight, you can't tell me you couldn't smell the bull shit that man was bathing us in." Dmitri said, sitting up and pulling the braid out of her now dry hair. "Besides, I don't think we'll be getting much sleep tonight."

Dmitri stood up from the bed and walked over to one of the large windows, pushing it open and allowing the warm, dry desert air to flow into the room. Ed blinks in surprise when she magically acquires the crystal flask from dinner, taking another drink and not even bothering to hide her distaste for the putrid drink.

"Why do you keep drinking it if you don't like it?" Ed asks as he adjusts the collar of his shirt while sitting on the couch. Dmitri stares at the flask in thought, a small frown tugging at her lips.

"The tax dollars of these people pay for everything in this place; the water, the food, this room. Even the alcohol in this flask. It's bad enough I wasted the food; I won't waste the alcohol too." She says as she finishes off the drink and set's the flask down on the bedside table. By now a light ting of pink was coming to her cheek's as the alcohol started to take effect. "It's the least I can do, until I return to central and turn that Yoki bastard in for his crimes against this town."

Dmitri walks over and sits on the floor so that her back was leaning against the edge of the couch next to Ed's right leg. Ed grunts in agreement, his thoughts going back to Al who was still at the Inn; he hoped his little brother was still in good hands. He glanced down at Dmitri who had her head leaned back onto the couch and her eyes closed, looking close to falling asleep.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me you where a State Alchemist? I didn't know we had any females in the ranks." Ed said out of nowhere making Dmitri jump slightly. She grumbled, rubbing her left eye with the palm of her hand and glaring at him with the right.

"That's because I'm not listed as an active member; I'm more of a, inside person. You know, undercover; my last name makes it easy to hide within the ranks, although I don't claim any of my family. Most people who know of my existence, know me by my code name, "The Lead Alchemist"." Ed places his chin on his hand, thinking hard on the name.

"I've never heard of you before."

"You wouldn't have; as an undercover agent for the investigation branch, my existence is very hush hush. If everyone knew who I was, I wouldn't be a very good undercover agent." She says with a yawn. "I think I exaggerated before when I said we wouldn't get much sleep tonight. I'm going to bed; feel free to sleep where ever you want, but I call the side farthest from the window." Ed deadpanned.

"There's windows on both sides of the bed..."

Dmitri flops onto the bed, burrowing under the covers and curling into a tight ball. "Then I call the middle." Ed sighs, falling over onto the couch; there was no way he was going to share a bed with a strange woman.

* * *

The next morning found Ed and Dmitri standing before the ruins of what was once the Inn. What was once a place of business, was now a pile of smoldering ruins. Dmitri steps up to the ruble, wiping her finger across a brick and examining the residue that came off on her finger.

Ed found Al and Kayal, the inn keepers son, a few yards away from the grieving owners. Al and the boy looked a little worse for wear, but otherwise seemed to be alright. Dmitri walked over to them, showing the residue on her finger to Ed.

"They used Molotov Cocktails; even if we had been here, the fire would have spread to fast for us to do anything." Dmitri said as she looked over the wreckage one last time. "We are lucky nobody died."

"Damn it..." Kayal said, his voice quivering with barely restrained emotions. "They really pulled something dirty this time. The reason my dad did alchemy was because he wanted to save this town." Dmitri knelt down and started wiping the grim off of Kayal's face. "H-hey, guys... you two have enough power to transmute gold, right?"

"No, Kayal." Dmitri said sternly, her blue eyes going steely for a moment before softening. "The world doesn't work that way."

"B-but, isn't it ok? You won't lose anything either!" Kayal said, pulling away from Dmitri who sighed in exasperation.

"Keyal, listen to me-"

"The alchemic standard is "equivalent exchange". I don't have any obligation or responsibility to make money for you." Ed said harshly making Dmitri sigh and Kayal gasp.

"Edward! You're not helping!" Dmitri scolded him. Kayal moved faster then Dmitri was prepared for, grabbing Ed by his coat collar and holding his fist up, ready to punch the blond boy in his mouth.

"You're supposed to be an alchemist!?" Kayal shouted. Dmitri stood and pulled Kayal away.

"That's enough, both of you!" Ed scoff's while Kayal escapes from Dmitri's hold and run's to his parents side's, wiping tears as he goes.

"In any case, even if I give you money, it'll be taken away as taxes and then it'll be over; I wont get anything either if I do anything for you little problems." Ed says to the towns people. "If you have that many problems, get out of this town and look for a different job." Ed fixes his coat and walk's past Dmitri who was fuming in anger.

"Kid, you don't get it." The inn keeper says, gaining Ed's attention once again. "This town is our home, and our coffin." The towns people left then, leaving behind a crestfallen Al, a shell shocked Ed and a furious Dmitri.

"Elric... YOU JERK!" Dmitri socked Ed in the back of his head making the elder brother cry out as he stumbled onto the ground.

"Brother! Dmitri, what are you-?"

"What the hell was that for?!" Ed demanded from the ground.

"Why couldn't you just tell them that it was against the law?!" Dmitri shouted as Ed picked himself up off the ground. "Sure, their problems aren't yours, but that doesn't mean you have to be so cruel!"

Ed growled and turned on his heel, storming away. "Shut up!" Dmitri huffed, following after him angrily.

"Get back here, I'm not done lecturing you yet!" Al followed after the two nervously.

"Brother? Are you really going to leave those people al-" Ed suddenly came to a stop making the other two nearly run into his back. He eyed a couple train cars that where full of debris from the mines, his face calculating and his shoulders stiff.

"Hey, how much do you think this pile of sludge weighs?" Ed ask's the other two out of nowhere. Dmitri sighs, and takes a look at the pile.

"Around two ton's I'd say; why?" Dmitri asks suspiciously. She glances over at Ed only to find that he was no long by her side but instead trying to crawl into the train car. "Edward, what are you doing now?"

"If it will get your happy go lucky ass off my back, I'll break the law a little." Ed said as he caught himself before he fell off the side of the car. "So pretend you're not watching."

Al gasped in surprise. "What?!" Dmitri stared wide eyed for a moments before smirking mischievously.

"So, are you telling us to be your accomplices?" Ed snickers.

"What's the matter Dmitri, don't want to?" Dmitri roll's her eyes.

"Even if we said no, you'd still do it." She says, making Al nod in agreement. "So let's get this over with." Ed chuckles and claps his hands together before slamming them down into the rubble he now stood on. Dmitri's eyes widened in shock; no transmutation circle? Mustang and told her but... she didn't believe him.

"If no one finds out, it's ok." Ed says over the sound of the transmuting rubble. Hundreds of gold bar's began to take shake out of the left over mining materials, their surfaces smooth and polished to perfection.

"It's only breaking the law if you get caught." Dmitri said in agreement. Al sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Oh well; guess I have to put up with such a bad brother." Dmitri nod's before eyeing the second cart of ruble, a small smirk coming to her face.

"We'll need a way to transport all this, right?" Al watched her walk over to the cart. Faster then he could track, Dmitri transmuted the cart into a large armored truck, bigger then any he had ever seen before.

"...wow..."

* * *

"I said, I would like you to sell me the deed to the coal mines." Ed repeated to First Lieutenant Yoki. He and his two companions stood in the entryway of Yoki's estate, piles of gold bars sitting around them and confident smiles on their faces. Yoki was flabbergasted, his whole body trembling in shock.

"Is this not enough First Lieutenant?" Dmitri asked stone faced.

"D-d-don't be absurd! With just this I can say goodbye to this town!" Yoki shouted in exuberance. "And then...?"

Ed stepped up, a cheesy smile on his face. "I'll be sure to inform my friends among the higher-ups about the First Lieutenant." He said joyously. Yoki nearly became a puddle of excitement, tears of joy streaming down his face.

"However First Lieutenant, seeing as gold transmutation is illegal, we would greatly appreciate it if you would a memorandum stating "This deed was transferred free of charge amicably", so nobody will find out." Dmitri said innocently. The First Lieutenant nodded his head excitedly.

"I don't mind at all! Let's skip to the legal process!" Dmitri sighs, a small smile tugging at her lips as she turns and escapes quietly from the entryway. She had faith that Ed's plan would work out; she had something she needed to do before the boy's go back into town.

* * *

Dmitri walk's up to the pile of ash and brick that was once the Inn of the town. With a sigh and a smile she clapped her hand's together before slamming them into the ground. Dark green alchemic energy swirled up around her, engulfing the entire structure. When the light subsided, before her stood the Inn, returned to pristine condition.

"H-hey- what are you doing?!" She looked over her shoulder to see Kayal and his father standing a few feet behind her, their eyes and mouths wide in shock. With sure footsteps Dmitri walks to them, coming to a stop before them and placing her hand onto Kayal's head.

"It's the least I can do. Transmuting gold is illegal Kayal; even if we wanted to give you all the gold that could be made, eventually the government would find out and your whole town would be incarcerated." Kayal's eyes grew wide.

"R-really?" Dmitri nodded her head.

"Ed and I would be stripped of our ranks and most likely executed, leaving our families helpless and with out income." Dmitri bit back a wince; so she had made that part up, but she hoped it was helping to drive home the message. "There is a price to be paid for every decisions you make."

"Equivalent exchange..." Kayal said softly. Dmitri nodded before shaking the Inn Keeper's hand.

"You've raised a great kid."

The Inn keeper nod's his head at her. "Thank you. Come on inside; I owe you a drink!" Dmitri's spirits rose slightly.

"Well, what kind of Alchemist of the People would I be if I denied your wishes."

* * *

Dmitri sat around the bar with the Inn keeper and a few of the towns men, talking about what had transpired the night before. "I'm telling you, we should strike back! I'm tired of being treated like a dog!" One of the men shouted, slamming his fist down onto the bar top. Dmitri flicked his arm, which was about as big around as she was mind you.

"Don't go breaking this place after I put so much effort into rebuilding it!" She scolded him harshly making everyone chuckle nervously. "Besides, what good would it do you to attack now? All it would do is give them a _reason_ to shoot you!"

"But we can't sit back and do nothing!"

"I agree, we need to get them now when they least expect it-!"

"HIIIIIII EVERYBODY!" Everyone in the room paused and turned towards the Inn's front door to see none other then Ed and Al, the first of which had just kicked the double door's open much to Dmitri's dismay.

"Damn it Ed, I just fixed those doors!" She shouted, throwing her empty bottle at his head which he promptly dodged.

"And they look beautiful! Alright, all people who owe money, line, and be very happy!" Dmitri glanced around the room. Nobody looked very happy.

"Why did you come here?" Kayal asked furiously.

"Hey, hey! You wouldn't say those kinds of things and drive off the owner of this place, would you?" The entire room gasped in outrage.

"What the hell are you-?" Ed pulled out a stack of papers and showed them to the Inn keeper. "This is..."

"Mining, management, sales, etc... the for all businesses." Ed interjected, his voice full of exuberance.

"But, why are you holding this?" The Inn keeper looked at the bottom of the page his eyes going wide. "AHHH! THE SIGNATURE IS EDWARD ELRIC!"

"That's right! In short, presently this coal mine is mine!" Ed said making everyone in the room fall over in surprise. Well, everyone but Dmitri who was waving a small victory flag from the bar. "Although, we're the wandering sort that go from journey to journey."

Al placed his hand on his head as if fighting a headache. "Something like this would just be a nuisance."

"And I know that not even my partner would have the time to take care of business around here, right Lead?" Dmitri smirked and shook her head.

"Between work and research, my hands are full."

The inn keeper narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you saying you're going to sell this to us? How much?"

Ed gave the Inn keeper a sinister smile. "It's expensive. If you want to get something, you gotta pay a price." The Inn keeper grit his teeth in annoyance. "This is vellum embossed in gold." Ed said as he threw the deed onto the bar top. "And it's storage box has a wonderful design, finely carved in jade. Yes, the work of a craftsman. Oh, and the key is silver. What do you think Lead?"

Dmitri eyed the deed and the box, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I'd say..." Every towns person in the room gulped loudly, eager to hear the price for something that could change their lives forever. She locks eyes with the Inn keeper who looked about ready to pass out. "Equals the price of one night and two meals for three at the boss's place." The Inn keeper, along with the the rest of the room gasps. "AAAAND, all the beer I can drink."

Ed roll's his eyes at her last statement. "Sounds like a fair price to me; do we have a deal?" He asks the Inn Keeper. The man's shoulders begin to shake and at first Dmitri thought he was going to blow a fues.

"Haha...hahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHA! That is expensive!" Kayal gaps at Ed before turning to Dmitri.

"Equivalent exchange...?" Dmitri nod's, a small giggle escaping from her lips. The Inn keeper slams his fist against the bar top.

"ALL RIGHT! BOUGHT!"

"SOLD!" Ed shouts as he claps the Inn Keeper on the shoulder. Dmitri whoop's and throws her hands up into the air.

"DRINKS FOR EVERYBODY!"

* * *

And there you have it.


	3. Home Sweet Home

Ok, so I'm having a little trouble here; I can't find a guide that tell's me how old the boys are during the majority of the Manga, so I'm just going to say that they are 15 (Ed) and 14 (Al), as those are the only ages aside from the ages at which they tried to bring their mother back to life.

* * *

_... "It's ok, you wont feel a thing." A middle aged man with dark hair and brown eyes stared down at her. Dmitri tugged at her arms and legs that where bound to either bed post, locking her in place for the procedure. "This is for your own good-" The man lifted his hand up, revealing a sharp scalpel that made her blood run cold. "I'm going to make it all better."_

_Searing pain erupted through Dmitri's nerves, so intense she could hardly see. She didn't even know she was screaming, the sound coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The slush of falling skin and soft tissue accompanied the screams of agony-_

Dmitri sat straight up, or at least would have if she hadn't met the roof of the train from her hiding spot in the luggage rack. Her breathing was labored and irregular as her eyes darted around, searching for something that wasn't there. "...Just a dream...?" The sound of many foot fall's answered her from outside the stationary train, making her take a peek under the luggage rack and out the window.

She was greeted by the face's of Edward Elric and Roy Mustang; had they made it back to Central already? Dmitri sighed; she could already feel a massive headache starting to form. Men dressed in the uniform of the state rushed around the two males, following orders given out by the Colonel. A good sized, smoldering crater in the ground near Mustang alerted her that he had performed alchemy on some sorry sap.

"What the hell did I miss out on?"

* * *

Dmitri sauntered off the train, taking in the controlled ciaos around her. Flicking the hood of her jacket up, she made her way towards Ed and Al who where still standing on the platform with Mustang. Upon seeing her, Ed scowled.

"Where the hell have you been?" He asked making her shrug her shoulders.

"Sleeping above your head; what happened here? Flame Brain get a little impatient for the spring festival?" Ed fell over in shock.

"You mean to tell me you slept through all of that?!" Dmitri gave him a blank stare.

"All of what?" Ed pinches the bridge of his nose. Al rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I don't know why you're so surprised brother; you would have slept through the whole thing too if that thug hadn't woken you up in the first place." Ed blushed and crossed his arms over his chest with a huff making Al and Dmitri chuckle. Colonel Mustang shook his head with a small smirk, motioning with a flick of his head for the three youths to follow him.

"Don't worry to much about it Lead; what's done is done." Dmitri shrugs her shoulders and follows after the Colonel with Ed and Al on either side of her.

* * *

"... You know if you keep that face up, it will get stuck like that." Dmitri said to Ed who was leering confidently at Colonel Mustang from across the room. Ed snickered, waving her off which made her sigh. "And to think, you have such a cute face and you're willing to ruin it on an idiot like Flame."

"I'm just excited is all; the Colonel owes me for this one, right?" Ed said, making Colonel Mustang chuckle a little.

"There's something disturbing about having to be in your debt..." Mustang said, his fingers laced together under his chin and a coy smile on his face. The two males stared each other down for what felt like forever to Dmitri. "Damn it, fine; I'll cave. What do you want?"

"Baby face wins again." Dmitri said making Ed scowl and Al laugh. Ed turned around in his chair, pointing an accusing finger at Dmitri.

"I do _not_ have a baby face!" Dmitri snickered and pinched his cheek making him wince.

"Sure you do; I mean, just look at these pinch-able cheeks!" Dmitri pulled on both of his cheeks while making a kissy face. "So cute!" Ed's face lit up like a Christmas tree much to Mustang's amusement.

"If you two love birds are finished flirting, perhaps we can get on with this little meeting? Believe it or not, some of us actually work around here." Dmitri released Ed's cheek and glanced around the room expectantly making an annoyed tick appear on Mustangs forehead.

"What are you doing now, Lead?"

"Looking for the person who works around here, but it seems Hawkey is out for lunch right now..." Mustang sighed, his left brow ticking as Ed snickered and Al hummed in amusement.

"Anyways Colonel; as payment for apprehending those criminal on the train for you, can you show us to a library or introduce us to an Alchemist that has detailed info about biological transmutation about here?" Dmitri's ears perked up; biological transmutation?

Dmitri had started having mild suspicion when she witnessed Ed transmute something that shall not be named (*cough*gold*cough*) with out an array, but she had assumed his array was somewhere on his hands, much like Mustangs gloves. But hearing that Ed and Al where interested in Biological Transmutation... it made a small weight fall in the pit of her stomach. They couldn't have possibly-

"You're rather impatient Fullmetal." Mustang said as he pushed himself up from his desk and walked over to his shelves of files.

"We want to-" Ed paused, glancing over at Dmitri who was examining her nails now as if suddenly bored with the conversation. Her Indigo eyes darted over to him at his sudden pause making him quickly avert his gaze. "You know our goal, Colonel. We wish to achieve it ASAP."

Mustang hummed as he pulled a file from the second shelf, skimming through the first few pages. "I suppose now wouldn't be the time to discuss you goals." He said as he sauntered back over to his desk and set the file down. "That's to bad, I was hopeing we could chat over a cup of tea." Ed grimmaced.

"What would be the fun about drinking tea with a _guy_?" Ed commented making Dmitri roll her eyes and flick the back of his ear.

"Did you forget that I, a woman, am sitting right here?" Ed grumbled as he rubbed his abused ear.

"Like anyone could forget about _you_..." Dmitri quirked a brow, a small smirk playing on her lips as she leaned over Ed's shoulder from behind his chair.

"Am I that unforgettable, Fullmetal?" Ed's whole face lit up once again, a scowl taking over his face as he pulled away from her.

"Knock it off!" Dmitri full out laughed as Mustang cleared his throat.

"Children, please. Dmitri, stop teasing the poor prude would you?"

"PRUDE?!"

Dmitri shrugged, sitting on the back of Ed's chair much to the blond boys annoyance. Al was practically shaking in mirth.

"Haha, prude- he called you a prude!" Al said between giggles making Ed's face go beat red.

"I hate all of you..."

"Awe, come on brother; it's kind of the truth, isn't it? I mean, you've never even been kiss-!" Al suddenly ducked as Ed aimed a kick for his head. Before to long the two brothers where chasing each other around the room with Ed shouting profanities at Al who was laughing the entire time. Mustang sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and falling back into his chair.

"They don't pay me enough to baby sit these children..." Dmitri nodded in agreement.

"To true my friend. So, what do you have for me?" Dmitri was suddenly in Mustangs face with the barrel of a hand gun pressed against his forehead. "And it better not be some wild goose chase like this last mission. Seriously Colonel? You sent me to a village to meet up with these two _four months _before they where scheduled to show up?" Mustang shrugged his shoulders, completely unfazed by the gun at his head.

"To be honest I wasn't even positive they would go there; it was all speculation that their research would lead to them passing through that town." Dmitri felt her brow tick and a sadistic smile crossed over her face.

"You arrogant little- I should kill you here and now for wasting my time on a _hunch_!" Dmitri stepped back, pointing her thumb to her own chest. "Do you know how long I've been away from my little princess?!"

Mustang smiled a little, picking up the file he had chosen and showing it to Dmitri. "Then you'll be happy to hear where the boys will be staying over the next few months." Dmitri snatched the folder from Mustang and opened it, her eyes lighting up and her gun falling from his head and evaporating into seemingly thin air.

"All is forgiven!" Dmitri turned around grabbing hold of Ed's jacket and Al's shoulder, holding the two brothers apart with seemingly little effort. "Ok ladies, break it up! You're both gorgeous! It's time to head out!"

"Where the hell are we going with _you_?" Dmitri dragged Ed and Al towards the office door.

"Duh, to see Shou Tucker and my little princess!"

"Who?" Al asked as Mustang grabbed Dmitri's shoulder bringing her to a stop.

"Calm down Lead; I'll be coming with you as an escort." Dmitri huffed, but let Ed and Al go. Ed readjusted his jacket irritably.

"Damn it Dmitri, you stretched out my jacket!" Dmitri shrugged.

"Maybe it will convince your body to grow a little..." She mumbled under her breath. Ed caught her comment however, and exploded.

"WHO YOU CALLING A TINY LITTLE MOLE RAT?!" Dmitri snickered as she ran away from Ed, their antics making Mustang growl.

"You!"

"IF I'M TINY, THEN YOUR AN AMOEBA!" Mustang snapped his fingers, causing a small flame to erupt between the two fighting teens that made them both squeal and jump back in fear.

"That is enough you two!" He said seriously making them both gulp and stand at attention. "Now move out!"

"Yes sir!" Ed and Dmitri said with a small salute before they turned and hightailed it out of the room. Al chuckled as Mustang huffed, the two following after the young State Alchemists.

"Colonel Mustang; who is this Shou Tucker?" Al asked the irritated Mustang.

"He's called the Life Binding Alchemist; he is the leading expert in Chimera Transmutation living within the city." Mustang said as he eyed the back of Dmitri's head. Her and Ed where bickering once again, trying their hardest to not draw his attention to them for fear of getting their asses singed. "He is also Lead's unofficial guardian; she's been living with him off and on since his certification."

"And he can help Brother and I get our bodies back?" Al asked as they exited the building. Mutsang shrugged his shoulders.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. But if anyone could help the two of you achieve your goal, it would be Tucker. He's the only man to ever successfully transmute a talking chimera." Al gasped, and if he had had his human eyes they would have been the size of dinner plates.

"R-really?! Brother, did you hear that?!" Ed glanced over his shoulder, both him and Dmitri coming to a stop to allow the other two to catch up with them.

"Hear what?"

"This Shou Tucker guy; he successfully transmuted a talking Chimera!" Ed and Dmitri's eyes both widened, though Dmitri's surprise soon turned to sadness. Ed was dumbfounded.

"A real life talking chimera... and this guy was able to pull it off?!"

Mustang nodded. "That seem's to be the case. I wasn't in charge at that time, so I didn't see the actual thing. I heard it could learn what people would say and speak." Dmitri sighed, scratching her cheek.

"It was a poor, tortured creature. It could speak, but because of it's molecular construction it's body wasn't strong enough, and it was in nearly constant pain." Dmitri said catching everyone attention.

"You saw it?!" Ed and Al demanded. Dmitri nodded, a frown tugging at her lips.

"I only saw it once. And it only said one thing to me. "I want to die." " Ed blanched and if Al had had his human body, she was sure he would have gone pale.

"Yes, shortly after it is said the creature died of starvation." Mustang said as they resumed walking, heading towards a parked car.

"Shou was devastated when the Chimera died; he loved that thing like it was his very own family." Dmitri said as they got into the car with Mustang. "Anyways, that was just over two years ago; he has continued to do his research, and has made great discoveries on how to perfect his craft." She looked at the large clock at the top of the Central Tower. "If he's keeping the schedule he was when I was last home, he should be awake. If we hurry we can catch him before he goes into the lab." Dmitri laughed a little. "After that it's nearly impossible to drag him away from his research."

* * *

"Wow... this house is huge..." Ed said as they piled out of the car. Dmitri giggled and ran towards the house with a notable skip in her step while chanting 'my princess' over and over again. It was a bit disturbing for Ed and Al to watch though Mustang seemed to take it in stride as he followed her to the door and rang the bell.

Heavy foot falls from around the side of the house caught Ed's attention. He turned just in time to be tackled to the ground by what looked like a huge, white monster. "Alexander!" Dmitri shouted happily as Ed twitched and struggled to regain his breath. It was hard considering the massive white dog that lay on top of him, his tail wagging happily as Dmitri pet his head affectionately.

"GET THIS MUTT OFF OF ME!" Ed shouted, his words muffled by the thick grass. Dmitri pat Alexanders head.

"Such a good watch dog! Who's a good boy! _Who's a good boy!_" Ed growled shaking his fist at Dmitri who had now added her own weight to the dog, crushing Ed even more.

"I'll get you for this you-"

"BIG SISTER!" Dmitri looked up to see a young, four year old girl with long reddish brown hair and bright blue eyes running towards her. "You're home!" Al helped Ed up as Dmitri ran to the young girl and scooped her up, spinning her around in her arms.

"Hey there Princess! Did you miss me?" Ed watched with a quirked brow as Dmitri placed multiple kisses around the little girls head and face while hugging her tightly. "Cause I sure missed you! You've gotten so big Nina!"

"Dmitri?" Everyone turned to the front door to see a man in his mid to late thirties staring out at Dmitri with wide eyes that soon turned into a warm smile. "My, and here I thought you might never make it back to us. Welcome home, Dmitri." He glanced over to Ed, Al and Mustang before settling his eyes on Ed once again. "And who might this be? Could it be that the fated day has come, and you have brought home a boy in need of my approval?"

Ed gasped and sputtered much to everyone's amusement. "Y-you got it all wrong! W-we just met this last week a-and-" Dmitri laughed, holding Nina in one arm and slinging her other around Ed's neck much to his displeasure, pinching his right cheek gently.

"Yeah, I thought he was pretty handsome, so I decided to try him out for a while." Ed's mouth flapped open and closed, a heavy duty blush covered his face.

"Don't go spouting nonsense you pervert..." Ed whined out. Mustang coughed to hide his laughter.

"Fullmetal, you dog; I never knew you had it in you." He said making Ed's face go beat red. Ed threw his arms up in the air, knocking Dmitri off of him and shouting animatedly.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT! WE DON'T EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER! SHE'S A STALKER! A SICK, SADISTIC STALKER!"

"Prude." Mustang, Al and Dmitri say together making Ed deflate in his defeat. He just couldn't win.

* * *

"Oh Shou; look at this place." Dmitri said as Tucker ushered everyone into the house. Stacks of books, boxes and countless other oddities cluttered every room making Dmitri's head spin. The last time she had been there, shortly before Mustang had ordered her to meet up with the Elric brothers, the house had been in relitively good order; she was in charge of the household chores and taking care of Nina so that Tucker could work in peace. It was Dmitri's way of paying Tucker back for allowing her to stay with him free of charge. But now all her hard work was ruined. "... So many books... so much dust..."

"I'm sorry the house is in such disorder; when you left there simply weren't enough hours in the day, and I found it hard to keep up on the house, Nina and my research." Tucker said with a sheepish smile. Dmitri sighed, but smiled.

"It's ok; all it need's is some TLC. I'll have the house back in order within the week." Nina, who was still on Dmitri's hip, wiggled to be let down.

"Can I help?! I'm getting better at reading, so I could help you read the lables!" Nina said as Dmitri let her down. Dmitri smiled sweetly at her.

"Of course you can princess; I'm gonna need someone to help me read." Ed snickered earning a harsh glare from Dmitri that made him gulp. "Why doesn't everyone head to the living room? I'll make us all some tea." Dmitri said earning a smile from Tucker.

"Always so polite." Ed and Mustang snorted earning another death glare from Dmitri. "Very well. Colonel, Edward, Alphonse; if you would follow me, we can get down to business." Tucker knelt down and patted the top of Nina's head. "Why don't you help Dmitri in the kitchen Nina? I'm sure she would love to see how well you are getting the tea ready." Nina's eyes sparkled and she nodded, grabbing Dmitri's hand and dragging her towards the back of the house where the kitchen was located.

"I never knew Lead was such a good house keeper." Mustang said as Tucker motioned for them to follow him down a long hall.

"Dmitri has been good to Nina and myself; I dare say, it's almost like having my wife back home. When she's here, a certain... calm comes about the house." Tucker shakes his head. "Sorry, I'm rambling." Ed smiles as they enter a large living room with multiple, fluffy couches and chairs sitting around a common sitting area. The room looked a little under used, suggesting it had been some time since Tucker has had guests, but to Ed it still looked like a million bucks. He was almost scared to sit on the couches for fear he would stain them some how; no way did he have the money to replace the whole set!

"It's quite all right; I know Lead has lived with you for some time. It is normal for parents to fawn over their children." Mustang said as they all took seats near the large oak coffee table. Tucker smiled gently, his eyes falling down cast to stare at his hands which where folded in his lap.

"Yes... Dmitri is very important to me. I am glad to have her back home, where she is safe..." Tucker's voice had been faint and unsure, making Ed give Al a questioning look to which Al slightly shrugged. Tucker suddenly moved, as if having be jostled from his thoughts. "Now then, to what do I owe this pleasant visit. Surely it wasn't just to say hello." Tucker said happily.

* * *

Dmitri watched Nina as she got into the lower cabinets to get out the serving tray. She couldn't help but smile; she was finally home. She had been worried that her mission with the Elric's was going to keep her from coming here for a while. Dmitri had missed Nina so much.

"See? Daddy got us all new serving stuff! Isn't it pretty?" Nina said as she held up the shinny silver tray. Dmitri took it from her gently and placed it on the counter.

"Oh my, it is beautiful! I bet you helped him pick it out, right?" Nina nodded, a proud smile spreading across her face.

"Daddy said you would like it; that's why he bought it, I bet!" She said making Dmitri chuckle. "He's always saying stuff like that. "Dmitri would love that" and stuff- he really missed you, big sister." Nina said a sad smile coming to her face. "When you didn't come back, daddy got really sad. He locked himself in his lab all the time..." Dmitri knelt down from her task of placing crackers and meat on the tray and patted Nina's head comfortingly.

"It's ok Nina; I missed you and your daddy too. I promise not to leave for so long next time, ok?" Nina smiled and wiped at her eyes, hiding the small tears that had gathered there.

"I was so scared that you weren't going to come back... just like mama..." Dmitri frowned, pulling Nina into a tight hug.

"Don't ever think like that Nina. I'll never leave you, understand?" Dmitri felt Nina nod her head. "I love you Nina." Nina's eyes widened in shock before she nuzzled deeper into Dmitri's arms.

"I love you too big sister."

* * *

Dmitri walked down the hall with a now happy Nina and a drooling Alexander following close behind her. Nina carried a small plate of crackers and cheese for her father, insistent that she bring him his food. To be a 'big helper' she had said.

"After we drop this off we will start going through some of those boxes, ok-?!" Dmitri stopped mid-sentence as she entered the living room to find Tucker, Mustang, Ed and Al all sitting in a tense silence. But it wasn't the thick air that made her pause, her grip on the tray nearly failing her; it was the sight of Ed, sitting across from Tucker with his black jacket off. Her eyes traveled up his right arm, across the expanse of shinny automale, all the way up until her indigo eyes locked with his surprised golden orbs.

"My god..." Tucker said under his breath.

"Shou...?" Suddenly Ed's eyes where not the only one's that faced her; all pairs of eyes where now locked on her, a mixture of shock and cold indifference. "The tea..." Dmitri some how brought herself to move towards the group, her arms and legs shacking with every step she took. She avoided making eye contact with anyone as she placed the tray on the table before them. Nina how ever stared openly at Ed's automale, her eyes wide and curious as she set her own small plate down.

With tentative hands she touched Ed's forearm. "Are you hurt mister?" Nina asked making Ed's eyes widen in shock. Dmitri gently scooped Nina up, fearing that she would do as children often do; ask questions that nobody wanted to hear the answer too. Ed smiled sadly up at her before looking down at his metal hand, folding it into a fist.

"No; don't worry. I'm fine."

Dmitri bit her lip. "Come on Nina; I think Alexander needs to go outside. He's looks like he's been slacking on his exercise since I've been gone." Dmitri said with a light hearted smile making Nina nod excitedly. She looked at Tucker and Mustang. "If you'll excuse us. We'll leave you to your male bonding time."

Dmitri left the room, ushering Alexander out with her hand, fully aware of a set of intense golden eyes boring a hole in the back of her head.

* * *

Woo-hoo! Chapter 3 is done! Believe it or not, this is only half of what I had originally wanted to put into this chapter lol hope you liked it


	4. The Light

Dmitri sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow after placing what felt like the 1,000th box into the store room. Her arm's ached, and her nose twitched due to the dust that floated through the air. She glanced down the hall to a large grandfather clock. Nearly 2pm. It was time for a break!

Not long after leaving the living room Dmitri had set about trying to distract herself and Nina from what had occurred (learning the truth about Ed and Al's past) by throwing herself head first into getting the house put back together. Nina soon lost interest and decided that playing out in the garden with Alexander sounded funner then going through old boxes of 'junk', leaving Dmitri to the task. Not that Dmitri minded; some of the things she was finding in the boxes where rather disturbing. Left over body parts from past chimera experiments for example. Yeah._  
_

"Hmmm... speaking of the boys..." Dmitri said out loud as she made her way to the kitchen; she hadn't seen the Elrics since she left them in the living room, which left her wondering where they could have ran off too. Dmitri sneaked a peek out the window; Mustang's car was gone. Had Ed and Al left with him? "Maybe their still in the living room... that was nearly five hours ago." Dmitri mumbled under her breath as she entered the kitchen, quickly fetching herself a glass of water. The sound of Nina playing just outside the back door caught her attention.

"Throw me big brother!" With curious eyes Dmitri looked out the back door to see Al playing with Nina in the back garden. He was tossing Nina gently into the air making her squeal with delight, and Dmitri smile.

But where was Ed? "Big sister! Look! Big brother is so strong!" Nina called out, having caught sight of Dmitri at the door. Said teenager stepped out onto the back porch, waving gently at Al and Nina who had stopped playing in order to wave back.

"He is strong isn't he." Dmitri said with a chuckle as Nina started begging Al to toss her again. "Al, where is your brother?" Dmitri said, eyeing Alexander who lay lazily on the porch. "He's not lost under the dog again is he." Al looked over at her and chuckled.

"No; brother is still in Tucker's library. Once he gets into his research, it's hard to get him to stop." Al said as Nina tried to crawl over his shoulder and down his back like a monkey. "But Nina looked like she wanted to play and Alexander was being lazy." The dog huffed in response to the insult, but otherwise didn't move.

"Did he even eat lunch?" Dmitri asked curiously. Al shook his head no before shrieking as Nina tugged on his blue loincloth. "That stubborn idiot."

* * *

Dmitri balances a small tray on her right hand as she knocks on the door to the study. No answer. "Ed?" She knocks again. Still no answer. Dmitri sighs in exasperation. "Edward~~" She says in a sing song voice as she pushes the door open. The room looked exactly as she had left it, a but, dusty. At the end of the room beneath a large picture window sat Ed with his nose buried in a book and stacks of books around him, almost like a fort. He was leaning against the wall behind him with his legs stretched out before him. "Ed! Put the book down and eat."

Ed didn't even flinch, let alone acknowledge that Dmitri had spoken at all. This mad Dmitri huff in annoyance; Al hadn't been joking when he said it was hard to distract Ed when the boy was focused on his research. Dmitri walks up the blond boy, her left hand coming to rest on her hip. "Ed... Edward..."

"Hmmm?"

"It's time to eat."

"Hmmm..."

"Are you even listening?"

"Hmmm..."

"You're not."

"Hmmm..."

"Do you even know that you've been in here for at least four hours?"

"Hmmm..."

Dmitri felt her brow tick in annoyance; was he even answering her, or was he reacting to something in the book? Dmitri places the tray (which held half a sandwich and a glass of apple juice) down on the desk before walking over to Ed and kneeling down beside him.

"Hey Ed."

"Hmmm..."

"I'm gonna use part of Al's armor to make a new gun."

"...Hmmm..."

Dmitri smirked; this could be fun. She reaches over and twirls the end of his braid, envious of how straight his ends where; why does his hair look so nice when she doubted he did anything to take care of it?! "I'm gonna cut all your hair off."

"Hmmm..."

"Al's ran away to join the circus!"

"Hmmm..."

"Your short."

"...Hmmm..."

Dmitri quirked a brow; she thought that would get to him for sure! What the hell was he reading that was so interesting? Time to pull out the big guns.

"What the hell is so interesting about that book?!" Dmitri grumbled as she wiggled her way under Ed's left arm, placing herself so that she was sitting between his legs with her back against his chest so she could see what he saw. The chicken scratch on the page was instantly recognizable as Shou's hand writing making Dmitri's brow furrow. Why was he reading Shou's notes on... Dmitir's mouth went dry and her shoulders stiffened when she read the header of the page. Subject 45; Shou's talking chimera. Ed turned the page, having finished with the introduction; on the next page was a photo of Shou standing beside his talking chimera with a proud smile on his face and his hand resting gently on the creatures head. Opposite of the page was a series of alchemic formulas, the steps Shou had taken to create his pride and joy.

"Water, 35 liters; carbon, 20kg; ammonia, 4 liters..." Dmitri felt her brow furrow; one of the formulas seemed strangely familiar to her. Near the bottom of list of ingredients Dmitri saw what appeared to be two red stains, almost like someone had dripped dark red ink onto the page. Bellow the two stains was another formula, one that Dmitri instantly recognized as the components that made up the average sized lion, an animal Shou used often as a comparison for his chimeras. But why was Ed looking into this kind of stuff? A glint of metal to Dmitri's right caught her attention.

Glancing over, Dmitri found that Ed's sleeve had ridden up, exposing his automail wrist. A small frown tugged at her lips; she hand't stuck around to hear the story in it's entirety, but she didn't need to know the gruesome details. If Ed's automail wasn't testament enough, the Al's body sealed the deal. No suit of armor sounded so hollow when occupied by human flesh..._ Ed's studying Shou's notes... so he can restore their bodies...an impossible task..._

Ed turned another page making Dmitri sigh. She leaned back against his chest and looked up, examining his face. It was still full of concentration, his eyes skimming across the page at a pace that seemed in-human; was he even absorbing anything from the words on the page? His eyes narrow a little and his lower lip juts out as he rereads one sentence over again; she could almost see the information burning itself into his brain... _he seems really serious about this... maybe, even if just by the skin of his knuckles, he can restore their bodies... _

* * *

Ed knew Dmitri was there; how could he _not_? She came in calling his name in the most annoying fashion. But he wouldn't acknowledge her; if Ed ignored Dmitri for long enough, she would go away right? Made sense to him.

"Ed... Edward!"

Damn woman; why wouldn't she just leave him alone?! "Hmmm?"

"It's time to eat." Ed resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he had just found the file he was most interested in reading, like hell he was going to stop now!

"hmmm..."

"Are you even listening?"

"Hmmm..." Just play dumb, Ed. Just play dumb, annoy the hell out of her and she'll leave.

"You're not."

"Hmmm..."

"Do you even know that you've been in here for at least four hours?" Ed fought back a look of surprise, stopping himself from looking at the clock to confirm her words. To do so would show that he was purposely ignoring her, which would lead to god only knows what for punishment from this crazy woman. Just stick to the plan Ed!

"Hmmm..." Ed heard Dmitri sigh in aggravation, leading to a small victory dance in his brain. The sound of her retreating foot steps nearly made him shout with joy; she was leaving! She was leaving! He stiffened up a little when Dmitri was suddenly beside him, sitting on her knees and poking his thigh. Damn woman.

"Hey Ed."

"Hmmm..."

"I'm going to use Al's armor to make a new gun." Ed stopped his reaction from showing; she was WHAT?! Dmitri wouldn't really do that, would she- OK Ed, calm down. She's just doing this to get to you; just keep rolling with the plan! Dmitri has to give up eventually!

"...Hmmm..." He heard Dmitri snicker and nearly groaned. Ed then felt Dmitri play gently with the end of his braid, making him bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from blushing. He hated it when other people played with his hair; it was far to personal and intimate! What the hell was she thinking-

"I'm gonna cut all your hair off." He nearly growled in aggravation; it's like she lived to mess with his head! He refused to lose to her!

"...Hmmm..."

"Al's ran off to join the circus!" Ed hid his humor; an mental image of Al (as armor) trying to tight rope walk in a tutu filtered across his mind.

"...Hmmm..."

"You're short." Humor gone! Ed fumed internally; he was going to kill her! Make her cry like a little baby!_... who is she calling a microscopic speck of dirt?!..._ On the outside, though it was killing him internally to do so, Ed stayed calm. Barely.

"...Hmmm..."

He saw Dmitri move out of the corner of his eye; was she actually leaving now? He hoped so; he only wanted to read this file- "What the hell is so interesting about that book?!" Dmitri hissed under her breath. Ed's eyes widened into saucers when he suddenly found Dmitri wiggling her way under his left arm (nearly knocking the book from his grasp) and pushing herself to sit between his outstretched legs, her back brushing lightly against his chest and her head falling just bellow his. An outrageous blush erupted over his face, to intense for him to fight off completely. It was only when Dmitri stopped squirming that Ed risked taking a peek at her from the corner of his eye.

Doing so only made his cheeks heat up all over again. At some time she had changed cloths, trading out her shorts, tank top and over-sized jacket for a pair of black, skin tight ankle pants (he thinks their called leggings...?) and a large over-sized dark blue sweater that had the neck cut out of it, allowing it to expose her right shoulder... which was right under his nose!

To close! His brain shouted at him as his eyes flicked up to the side profile of her face. Her hair was in a lose braid that fell over her left shoulder and down to his thigh with a few pieces having fallen out that tickled the right side of her neck. Behind those stray pieces of hair, Ed spied two large freckles that lay just beneath her ear lobe.

Feeling a strange flutter in his gut he moved his eyes to her actual face, noting that she wore very little makeup. Huh; he had thought she would be wearing more. Despite this, her skin looked very smooth. Dmitri obviously took good care of her skin, as (despite having stayed in a desert town for nearly four months) her skin was fair in color, and she didn't sport any tan lines. Her brows where neat, though not as thin as he has seen on other women. They suited her face fine enough he supposed. Her nose was small and button like, a small bump in the bridge hinting that it has been broken and fixed at least twice. She had full lips, her bottom lip seeming to be stuck in a permanent pout, though that could be because, like now, she always seemed to be biting it.

But her best feature, was probably her eyes as cliche as it sounded. Her lashes where thick, and such a deep black that they almost looked blue when the light hit them just right. Her eyes themselves where a strange shade of blue, looking almost purple at times when she was in deep thought, like now. When he had first met her, just a few days ago really, the color had intrigued him; they always seemed to be shinning, even when she was dead on her feet tired as she had been the other night when they first boarded the train back to central. Though the natural light in her eyes couldn't compare to the light that shinned in them when she first laid eyes on Nina earlier this morning. It was like she had been brought back to life_...it's still there... that light..._ he thought absentmindedly as his shoulders relaxed once again.

His eyes flicked back to the book in his hands; the book that now rested against Dmitri's bent knees. Maybe he could get some reading done now...? She seemed content enough to stay there, and if it kept her quiet then he would allow it... that was until she started mumbled things under her breath as soon as he turned the damn page! Could she not sit still and be quite for longer then two seconds?!_... ugg, now what is she doing?..._ Dmitri wiggled her way out from his lap, once again nearly knocking the book from his hands. He bit back a relieved sigh; she was finally leaving him to his research-?!

Ed stared with wide eyes at his, now, empty hands. "What the hell-!?" His exclamation of surprise was interrupted as half a sandwich was nearly shoved down his throat with enough force that it pushed his head back. "Woph a ig hichia?!" Though it came out muffled he knew Dmitri, who was standing over him arm's crossed and smug faced, understood every word. She knelt down before him, her smug smirk turning into a stubborn frown.

"Eat it." She growled out making Ed grumble, but comply. If it would get her to leave him alone, he would do anything! She sighed in exasperation before standing and pulling the book he had been trying to read from behind her back. "Honestly Ed, you've been at this for most of the day. Don't you think it's about time you took a break?" Ed scoffed.

"It's not like I have unlimited time to look through this stuff; I have to get as much of this research read as I can before I leave tonight." He said around a mouthful of food. Dmitri smirked at his childish behavior before handing him the glass of apple juice and a napkin.

"Don't talk with your mouth full Ed; what, where you raised in a barn?" Ed smirked and shook his head.

"Nope, but close. An automail mechanic's shop!" He said before downing the juice in one go. Ed would never admit it, but he was grateful for the food even if it was just a tease to what he would have normally eaten as a meal. He hadn't realized how long he had been at it, and he really was hungry. Again, he'd never tell _anyone _let alone the smart ass woman that now traded his empty glass for the book.

"Heh, why am I not surprised by that." Dmitri said with a roll of her eyes. "But seriously, if I catch you trying to skip a meal again I'll beat you into a bloody pulp." It was Ed turn to roll his eyes.

"What do you care-?" Dmitri grabs his right, metallic wrist, holding it up as if for Ed's own inspection. "Hey! What are you doing!?"

"You wan't to restore your's and Al's bodies, right? That's why your so interested in Shou's research." Ed's eyes widened in surprise before falling to the visible automail of his wrist. "It's none of my business what happened; I honestly don't care to know. But you can't expect to succeed at such a dangerous goal if you don't take care of what's left of your flesh and blood. Imagine how devastating it would be if you somehow gained the knowledge to reach your goal, only to have your body give up on you at the last second. You could die, Ed; and then where would that leave Al?" Ed huffed in annoyance and pulled his arm away from her roughly.

"Are you done scolding me?" Dmitri chuckled.

"For now." Dmitri then reached down and pinched Ed's cheek earning a squeak of discomfort from the blond boy. "Keep it up with that mouth of your's and I'll nag your damn ear off!" Ed batted her hand away with a glare and a growl. This made Dmitri full out laugh. " Just know that if you plan on holing yourself up in here when ever you come over, I'm going to force you to eat, ok? That baby face of yours is just to cute to let it turn to skin and bone." Ed's face lit up like a lantern.

"W-will you stop saying stuff like that!" Dmitri laughed as she let go of his cheek.

"Wow, you really are a prude arn't you." She said earning a huff of annoyance from Ed. "No wonder you've never been kissed before."

"Wha-?! Who told you that?!" Ed demanded, his face scrunched up confusion. A light suddenly clicked on in his brain making him growl and hold up his fist threateningly. "Al! That little punk, wait until I get my hands on h-h-h-immmm...!" Ed fumbled mid rant as Dmitri placed a small kiss on the cheek she had been previously abusing. The kiss was innocent and short lived, with Dmitri pulling back after just a couple seconds of contact to smile at him cheekily.

"There! Now you can say you've been kissed by a girl." Dmitri walked away then, taking the empty tray into her hands as she headed towards the door. "I'll be back in a few hours with your dinner! Study hard boys!" She called over her shoulder as she disappeared through the door, leaving Ed gaping after her on the floor, his face as red as an apple.

He didn't know how long he sat there staring after her, his heart going a hundred miles and hour in his chest and his cheek's flushed a vibrant red; all he knew was that the sudden appearance of his younger brother at his side scared the living day lights out of him.

"Hey brother?" Ed nearly jumped out of his skin, the book in his hand clattering to the ground loudly in his surprise.

"A-Al! H-how long have been there?" Al giggled innocently making Ed's blood go a little cold.

"Oh, not very long. I took a little break to play with Nina; she was bored since Dmitri was cleaning up the mess Tucker's made since she's been gone." Ed nearly felt his heart top with how relieved he was; the last thing he needed was for Al to have seen what Dmitri had just put him through. Speaking of whom... Ed's ears perked up at the sound of chatter and laughter through the window above and behind him.

Ed and Al turned around to peek out the window. They where greeted by the sight of Nina and Dmitri walking along the edge of the flower bed, picking flowers and placing them in a large basket. Dmitri sniffed every flower she picked before holding it for Nina to smell as well. The two brothers watched Nina and Dmitri for a while, enjoying the silent simplicity of the moment.

"...She reminds me of mother..." Al suddenly said making Ed's eyes widen in surprise. He sighed, leaning against the window frame with his shoulder.

"What are you talking about Al? Dmitri isn't anything like mom." If Al had his body, Ed would have thought his brother was on drugs; the brash, overbearing trouble making teen he'd been forced to travel with over the last few days was nothing like his sweet, caring, selfless mother.

"It's her eyes... when she look's at Nina. That's when I see mom in her." Ed glanced at his somber brother before his eyes roamed back to the two girls in the garden. Dmitri was kneeling now, placing a white daisy behind Nina's ear with a careful hands and a gentle smile. Her eyes held the same light in them as they had earlier that morning; a kind of saddened happiness that both confused and intrigued him.

"... What ever you say Al..." The two brothers sat in silence once more, each of them getting lost in their own thoughts.

"Oh, by the way brother..." Ed grunted to show he was listening. "... I don't think it count's if the girl kisses _you_ on the cheek." Ed gives Al a confused look; what the hell was he talking about? "No matter how pretty she is." Realization dawned on Ed making his face catch fire once again.

"S-Shut up!"

* * *

So there's chapter 4- got to say I hate the way this chapter ended! I had a really good ending written up. I mean, _really good_ ; but the damn website messed up and didn't save it and so it was lost for ever! *cries* I nearly threw my computer I was so angry...


	5. Don't ask Don't tell

Trying a new POV. Not sure how I'll like it, as I'm not used to writing in anything other then 3rd person... anyways, enjoy! This one is more of a filler/set up chapter, so sorry for any OOCness- I'm not used to writing the Elric's or anyone from this series really lmao.

* * *

Ed POV-

The time was drawing near. My eyes darted towards the large clock that sat against the wall across from me. It was nearly 2 pm. In the two weeks Al and I have spent at Tuckers, I have come to realize two things. Number one; Tucker has been doing his research for a very, _very _long time! I've hardly made a dent in his notes and published works, let alone the books he _didn't _write! Number two; Dmitri had been serious when she threatened me about skipping meals. I still have a bit of a headache from an episode last week. Every day, at 8am, 2pm and 8pm, Dmitri would come knocking at the door with a plate of food and a glass of juice. I tried to fight her the first couple days; I didn't need to be coddled like a child damn it! But after nearly losing an eye to a fork, I decided to let her have her way about the matter._  
_

And honestly, I can't complain. Her food was good, and it always seemed to amp me up to dive back into the books. The only thing I could live with out, is her irritating 'habit' of playing with my god damn cheeks! If she pinches them one more time, I might just bite her hand off. No joke. And then, she think's she can just "kiss it and make it better", like the abuse never even happened! I could feel my face heat up at the many memories of Dmitri planting small pecks to my face and... other places.

It's not in my nature to take anything laying down. So about a week ago, I decided to attempt to block her kisses of doom with my right leg. Dmitri actually had the gal to plant a fat kiss right to my knee cap, and _laugh_ about it! So, having failed to block her with my leg, I changed tactics; two days later I blocked her with my left hand; she _licked_ my palm. Full on, licked my palm from my wrist to the tip of my middle finger. Was it gross? Yes. Does it haunt me? Absolutely! But today, today will be different-

"Edward~~" Speak of the devil. I felt my brow tick in annoyance while my stomach did this weird back flip thing, something it always did when ever Dmitri decided to grace me with her irritating presence. A now familiar head of white blond hair and illuminating indigo eyes popped through the door of the study, her lips curled into a sheepish grin. "Glad to see you're between books." She said as she stepped into the room carrying a small tray which contained a couple slices of bread, some casserole left over from the previous nights dinner and a glass of that I was sure contained some kind of juice. "It's a real pain to try and get you to put those book's down."

"Yeah yeah," I said as she set the tray down at the desk. Like had become normal, I sat at the desk to eat my lunch; something about barn's and what not. Either way, it kept her from nagging me so I was more then willing to comply. "How's the cleaning coming along? You have to be close to done with it by now; it's been almost two weeks since you started." Dmitri hopped up onto the desk, laying back so she was stretched out over it's surface, her back popping a few times as she stretched it out.

"I have one more room to go through, but it will be the hardest. I'm hoping Nina will go down for a nap soon so I can do it with out her knowing..." Dmitri said, her tone sounding less the enthused.

"You make it sound like it's some big, diabolical place..."

"It kind of is; Nina has a large collection of toy's that she refuses to get rid of, despite the fact that most of them are broken." She says with a sigh, though a small smile rested on her face. "I doubt she even know's that half of them exist!"

I shrugged as I took a bite of the casserole; still fantastic. Who knew rough and tumble Dmitri was such a good cook? "So just throw them away; broken things shouldn't been held on to, unless you plan to re-purpose them." Dmitri stared at me for a long while and I began to wonder if I had said something to upset her in some way. She finally sighed, using her arm to cover her eyes.

"Yeah..." She whispered.

Yep, she's upset. Shit.

"Nina's grown up believing that her mother just walked out on her and her father." Dmitri said forlornly. "Because of that, she gains an emotional attachment to who ever, and what ever she can. She hold's on to things that are broken, because she doesn't want to lose that emotional attachment." She chuckles darkly, the arm that was covering her eyes moving so she could stare up at the ceiling. "It's hard for me to take those thing's away from her, even if they are broken..."

I sat back in the desk chair, staring at her curiously. The way she spoke about Nina, it was like she could relate to her in some way. It was then that I realized just how little I actually_ knew_ about Dmitri. Granted, she never seemed to shut up, but she was never talking about herself. It was always about Nina, or Tucker or the people she has worked with and about what _they_ did on her past missions.

But Dmitri seemed to know an awful lot about Al and I. Granted, I think Al had a lot to do with that, but still; she even knew about my aversion to milk, or seemed to as she had never tried to make me drink that foul liquid (it must be cultivated by the devil). I had even over heard her talking to Nina about mine and Al's birthdays, a topic that had _NEVER _ come up between any of us. To be honest, it was a little unsettling...

Dmitri sat up as if suddenly awoken from a sound sleep. "Anyways! Have you made any progress on your reading? I would hope your not up here just lazing about."

"For your information, I _have _made progress. While you and Al spend your days playing house, I've been taking diligent notes that may just help Al and I get our bodies back to normal." Dmitri, out of no where, pull's out a very familiar note book from god only know's where and starts flipping through the pages. "H-hey! Where did you get that from?!" I felt the pockets of my jacket; I could have sworn I had put it away earlier!_  
_

"I was doing laundry and it fell out." She said making me nearly face palm myself. It was yesterday that I had put it into my pocket. Was time really starting to mesh together so much that I couldn't remember when a day has passed? "I was looking over your most recent notes; why are they all incomplete?" I snatched the note book from her and stashed it away in my inner coat pocket.

"That's the way Tucker's notes read; it like he just abandons his projects before they really get off the ground. The only subject he had that reached completion was Subject 45." Dmitri sighed, running her fingers through her hair and gnawing at her bottom lip.

"The talking chimera; he told me that it was his first successful experiment. He loved it almost as much as he loves Nina." She says sadly as she pulls her legs up to her chest, resting the heels of her feet on the desk's edge. "He mourns it's death to this day, spending hours in his lab in order to try and recreate that chimera." Dmitri shudders a little, mild disgust clear on her face. "I just hope, for that poor creatures sake, that he perfects it next time. The pain that poor beast must have been in... it decided it would rather starve to death then face the pain of being alive."

I wasn't sure how to react to Dmitri's disgust. She was almost so full of admiration towards Tucker, it was odd seeing her regarding his work with such sadness. But then again, if I had bared witness to the creatures only spoken words, "I wan't to die", perhaps I would feel the same as her. What Tucker did was fantastic, revolutionary; but it came the cost of a living creatures life. Tucker got recognition for his work and was certified as a State Alchemist. He wen't from having nothing to being wealthy, and being able to give his only child anything she could ever want; but the creature who had made it possible for him to live such a life, was rewarded with pain, suffering and eventual death by self starvation. It was hard to see the equivalency...

"Hello?" Dmitri waves her hand in front of my face, breaking me from my conflicting thoughts. "Earth to Ed! Hurry up and drink your juice before it gets warm." I glanced at the galss, my brow furrowing. Maybe I was being a little paranoid. I mean, she couldn't possibly know anything truly personal, right? Only one way to find out I guess...

"Why do you always bring juice? Why not milk?" I asked, holding back a physical shudder as the putrid work came out of my mouth. Speaking it left a sour taste in the back of my throat.

"Hmm?" Dmitri quirked a brow at me, her eyes shinning with mild confusion and a little amusement, making my cheeks heat up a little. Seriously body? The hell is wrong with you! She's not even doing anything, stop blushing- "Well, you don't like milk right?" I blanched a little; so she _did _know? But how?!

"How do you know?" Dmitri placed her finger against her chin in mock thought.

"Well..." She reached out and placed her hand on top of my head making me flinch a little; I really wasn't used to human contact. "It's a little obvious..." I felt my temper flare.

"WHO YOU CALLING A MICRO PIG?!" I hissed between my teeth. Anyone else would have cowered at the death glare I was giving her, but Dmitri simply shrugged her shoulders with a small smile.

"I figured I was allowed to call you short-"

"NOT SHORT!"

"-Seeing as how you are taller than me." I nearly ranted again but stopped as I processed what she had said. Was I really taller then someone?! Faster then even I could react I stood up and pulled Dmitri off the desk, standing her just inches in front of me holding on to her waist as she tried to resist the sudden movements. "H-hey! What the hell are you-?" I placed my heavy right hand on the top of her head, effectively shutting her up, mesmerized that I had to look _down_ to stare at the back of said hand. Was Dmitri really this small? It seemed serial to me; her personality was so... _out there_ that I had never even paid attention to her actual size. But she was right; even if she put on heel's she would still be shorter then me by an inch or so... I jumped when I felt small (oh great not everything about her was going to scream tiny to me!) hands brushing lightly against my chest. "You got crumbs all over yourself." Dmitri said in exasperation. "Honestly, what am I going to do with you Ed."

"You could stop treating me like a child." I said with out thinking making Dmitri take half a step back, her thighs making hard contact with the edge of the desk. I felt my eyes widen in shock at the suddenly blank look she was giving me. Her eyes where so dull and listless it was almost scary.

"You are a child." She said as if it was an obvious observation. I scowled.

"No I'm not-"

"You're only 15 Ed; a child by societies standards." I felt anger bubbling in my chest but tried to ignore it; what did she know anyways? Nothing, that's what!

"So are you! So where do you get off babying _me_ and scolding _me_?!" Dmitri sank back onto the desk, her head falling so her chin rested against her chest allowing her lose bangs to hide most of her face.

"I'm a different kind of child I guess. We're actually kind of similar in that respect I guess." She said in a monotone voice that sent a small shiver down my spine. I may be furious with her right now, but I didn't like this Dmitri. She was far to calm- "We where all young, Al included, when the world decided that we needed to grow up."

"Don't compare yourself to me, or Al for that matter! You have no idea what we've been through!" I said harshly, moving to walk away from her. I was done with this conversation, with this woman. I didn't want to have this conversation with her. Dmitri stopped me with a hard grip to my right arm, one I (thankfully) couldn't feel, though her knuckles where white with the force she was using. "_What?_"

"Can I see it?" She asked bluntly; her question makes me snap out of my anger. I didn't answer quick enough it seemed as Dmitri pulled me back towards her by my wrist tentatively. With visibly nervous fingers she removed my ever present white glove, exposing the shinning metal of my palm then fingers to her now curious eyes. When her fingers brushed against my auto mail palm I found myself sucking in a quick breath. I couldn't feel her fingers on my hand, but I was suddenly very aware that Dmitri was standing just a few inches away from me, running her finger tips along each individual digit as if they where made of glass. Which of course, their not; steal was anything but breakable. But she acted as if, at any moment, my auto mail was going to crumble in her hands.

It put me on very high alert; I'm not used to people treating me like glass. I was Edward Elric; Hero to The People, a prodigy State Alchemist. People often refereed to me as a pillar of strength. It was unsettling to see such a gentle look being aimed towards me. The feeling of gentle tugging brought me out of my thoughts. With out me noticing Dmitri had managed to undo the single snap at the base of my throat and had pushed my jacket off my shoulders, pulling my right arm out and exposing it completely.

If I had felt weird before, it was a thousands times worse now. It felt like I might as well be standing naked. I didn't understand why I was so nervous all of a sudden; plenty of people have seen my auto mail, and I had never batted an eye. I knew what they all where thinking; that I was fool. A stupid kid to attempt something so ta-boo. But this was different; I couldn't tell what Dmitri was thinking. There was no surprise, no shock evident on her face. Just her curious eyes and her teeth gnawing away at her bottom lip as she concentrated on the individual divots and angles of my arm.

"It's beautiful." She said suddenly making me jump in surprise; I hadn't expected her to speak, and her words only served to shock me more. "I don't know why you insist on hiding your arm Ed; it's truly beautiful."

"It's- is that all you have to say?" I asked, my voice coming out in a whisper despite my efforts to raise it in alarm. The hell was she thinking?! Was she seeing the same thing that I was? Sure, the design was incredible; Winry was the best mechanic anyone could ask for. But apart from that, it was a horrible disfigurement; a testament to my failures, to the horrible crime I committed not only against the state, but my very own brother. It was hideous, disgusting; who would want to look at something like that all the time?

"... Do you wan't me to say that it disgusts me? That you're an idiot; a fool for trying something so dangerous, while blinded by your grief?" I felt every muscle in my body tense up.

"Everybody else has." Dmitri shook her head, a small frown forming over her lips. Her fingers brushed over the seam between my the metal of my arm and the flesh of my chest, tracing one of the many scares left over from the painful surgery that lead to its attachment. I felt goose bumps rise up on my flesh arm, a small shiver going down my spine; it's been a long time since I've felt any kind of physical touch that wasn't my mother, or Winry on the many visits I've made for maintenance.

"Don't ask, don't tell." She said suddenly, taking my attention away from the warmth spreading across my chest from the tips of her fingers. "That's the way I see it. I know what you did, and it doesn't take a scientist to understand why you did it. I don't know who you lost, or when, or how you gained the knowledge to attempt to bring them back. I don't know how you knew how to bond Al to his armor. And I don't expect you to tell me; it's none of my business." It was like suffering from whiplash; for the first time in a long, _long_ time I wasn't being judged for what I had done. The guilt I felt was immeasurable; I had tried to do the impossible, at the cost of my brothers body a two of my own limbs. The weight had grown to be nearly suffocating with each person who would learn the truth, their scrutinizing, judgmental stares (or leers in some cases) only adding to the horrible wound on my heart. Watching Dmitri, this strange girl that I knew nothing about, play with the metallic fingers of my right hand seemed to lift a little of that weight away. "So, you showed me your's; do you want to see mine?"

"Y-your... what?" I said, barely catching her sentence at it's tail end.

"My scar. Or one of them, at least..." Holding my right hand in her's she reached down to the hem of her tank top with her left, pulling the fabric up and exposing her hip. A light blush bloomed on my face, though it disappeared once I saw what was hiding under her clothing. A large, vicious looking scar marred her pale flesh, running from bellow the edge of her shorts up and around the curve of her hip and disappearing towards her back. It was jagged and a little lumpy, showing that the wound had been poorly sutured. I reached out with my free left hand and traced the scar gently. "My hip broke when I was 13. Shattered; my doctor at the time... he had a new form of treatment he wanted to try. He was able to replace the whole thing with a metal prosthetic."

"Metal? Under the skin?" I found myself asking in disbelief. Dmitri nodded, using her left hand to move mine to a different spot on her hip. The flesh there was notably warmer then the scared tissue. "... that's... incredible. I've never heard of such a thing! But... you where so young. A hip is a hard bone to break, let alone shatter..." My brow furrowed in confusion.

"Are you going to ask me what happened?" I glanced up at her, trying hard to read what she was hiding behind her strange eyes.

"...Don't ask, don't tell." I said with a sigh. My curiosity _was_ killing me, but I could't bring myself to ask her for more information. She had been gracious enough to leave the gristly details of my past alone, and I would do the same for her. Her face split into a soft smile that made my stomach do that stupid back flip thing again.

"Thank's Ed..." And with that, she kissed the cold metal of my palm, making me scowl and huff in annoyance. I pulled my hand away, rubbing it against my pant leg.

"Damn it! Why do you do thing like that?" I asked as I moved away from her quickly before she could get any more crazy ideas. She snickered, the playful glint returning to her eyes much to my relief. Serious Dmitri was almost to much to handle.

"You sure you wanna know? You may not like the answer you get." She said cryptically making me pause before I answered her. What if it was something horrible? Like, she had this incurable disease that could be spread via having contact with her mouth! And she was secretly trying to poison me!

"Yeah I wanna know! It's weird, and suspicious!" I ranted at her making her quirk a brow, her lips becoming tight as she tried to hid an amused smile.

"Suspicious huh? If you're completely sure you wan't to know..." She turned around and grabbed the empty tray, tsking as she looked into the still full glass of now warm juice. "Didn't even finish your meal..." She mumbled under her breath.

"Are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to force it out of you?" I asked in a threatening tone, holding my automail fist up to emphasize my words. Would I actually hit her? Hell know; not that I think it would truly hurt her, but because I was worried about what she might do in retaliation. Almost took a fork to the eye for not eating correctly, remember? Dmitri didn't take my threat seriously, laughing full out as she headed for the door. I huffed in agitation; she was going to make this difficult for me-

"I do that kind of stuff," she said in a sing song voice as she glanced innocently over her shoulder at me. "Because it bothers you." I felt every part of my body go limp with surprise, my mouth flapping open and closed like a fish out of water.

"W-W-WHAT?! You can't be serious!" Dmitri sticks her tongue out at me making my blood boil. Who the hell does she think she is?! "I'm going to get you for this! You hear me demon woman?!" Dmitri laughs at my threat much to my humiliation. "I'm serious!"

"And what are you going to do, hmm?" She asked mockingly.

"Two can play at this game! I'll just embarrass the hell out of _you _and see how YOU like it!" I said, a triumphant smirk coming to my face. How ever instead of a look of horror all I got was more laughter as she turned away from me again and continued towards the door.

"The day you get the courage up to fight fire with fire in this battle, _Al _will learn how to fly!" Her taunt was enough to make me grit my teeth. So, she thought I wasn't brave enough to embarrass her?! Well we'll just see about that! Unfortunately before I could issue a true challenge to her, Dmitri had left the room in a fit of giggles. I growled, running my left hand through my bangs.

"It is so on."

* * *

Dmitri stirs the contents of her big soup pot leisurely, taking a big whiff of the spicy aroma that steamed from it's depths. The weather was starting to turn chilly over the last few nights, and she decided to shake things up a bit by making a recipe called 'Deep South Chili'... she wasn't sure why it's name refereed to the deep south, as she had actually learned it from a village woman in the far north on one of her missions, but she didn't really care to know. It tasted good, and that's all that really mattered.

Dmitri reached overhead for a canister of dried hot peppers, intent on crumbling them into the chili to ad a little more zest, only to stumble in her movement as the room suddenly began to spin. With out thinking she grasp's the closest thing to her to regain her balance only to shout out in surprise and pain as her palm makes contact with the hot stove top. She stumbles back into the kitchen table, knocking a glass bowl to the ground where it shattered, the sound causing her ears to ring and her vision to go black.

"Dmitri!" Heavy foot fall's and the sound of clanking metal alerted her to Al's presence in the kitchen just seconds before his over sized hands grabbed onto her shoulders, keeping her from falling to the side and allowing her to stabilize the spinning in her head. "What's happened?! Are you ok? Your hand!" Dmitri felt the world around her starting to slow down until she was able to focus onto Al's face, which oddly enough seemed to hold a concerned look to its unchanging metallic surface. She grabs his forearms, sighing as the cold metal pressed against her burnt flesh.

"I-I'm fine Al- I just got a little dizzy that's all." She said with a weak smile.

"Big sister!" The feeling of small arms wrapping around her leg drew Dmitri's eyes down and to the top of Nina's head. "Are you sick? Should I go get daddy?" Dmitri sighed, releasing Al's arm and petting the top of Nina's head reassuringly.

"No princess, I'm not sick; I was just standing over the stove for to long." She said. Al wasn't convinced; Dmitri always cooked dinner, and she's never fainted like that. Who knows what might have happened if Al hadn't come into the kitchen just now. She might have ended up falling on the broken glass, bleeding out before anyone came down for dinner! A small rap-tap-tap on the side of his helmet broke Al from his thoughts. "Earth to Alphonse; stop worrying so much ok? I can practically hear you thinking. Now take Nina to wash her hand's for dinner please; it should be done in a few minutes." Al nodded, taking a step back from Dmitri and releasing her shoulders. Dmitri was a little sad that she couldn't use his armor as a cold compress anymore, but her hand already felt hundreds of times better, so she could live with out it.

Nina whined, hating to get washed up for dinner. She didn't understand why she needed too; she was just going to get dirty again! "Awwww, big sister, do I have to? I'm not even dirty..." Dmitri quirked a brow at her making Nina blush sheepishly.

"So you weren't out in the garden at all today?" Nina's blushed ten times harder, shaking her head and hiding her hands behind her back so that Dmitri couldn't see the grass stains on her palms from doing somersaults and cartwheels. Dmitri giggled and reached down, tugging a small leave out of Nina's bangs and showing it to the flustered child. "Perhaps it's best to wash up anyways. I know the floors haven't been washed in a while, and I'd hate for you to get sick, ok?" Nina nodded contritely before scampering out of the kitchen leaving Al and Dmitri to chuckle in amusement.

"At times she reminds me of brother when he was that age; he used to hate washing up for dinner too." Al said with a laugh making Dmitri smile. "Oh, speaking of brother, he told me that he was going to come down for dinner tonight." Dmitri's eyes widened in mild shock; it wasn't like Ed to come eat with the rest of them. He normally didn't even realize it was dinner time until Dmitri brought up his food.

"Is that so? Well I look forward to seeing his face at the table." Dmitri said with a little snicker.

"Umm, Dmitri; he said something else that has be worried..." Al said, his voice suddenly thick with confusion and obvious distress.

"Hmm?"

"He said that, he was coming down to dinner to 'asses the enemy'... do you know what he means? He said you would so..." Dmitri's brow furrowed for a moment. The hell was Ed thinking- their conversation from earlier that day flew across her mind making her snort in a rather unladylike fashion. "Dmitri? You ok?" Al asked and Dmitri started to laugh hysterically as she walked over and grabbed the broom to clean up the broken bowl.

"Haha, it's nothing to worry about Al. Just sit back and watch the game begin." She said making Al scratch the back of his head in confusion.

* * *

And there's chapter 5! I kind of liked the scene between Ed and Dmitri, if I do say so myself; but Dmitri is starting to become such a mystery, how will Ed and Al put up with her antics in the following chapters?!


	6. Feverish

Phew... got this done in one day. It's amazing what I can do when I give myself the motivation to do it (aka, threatening myself with... time off from work! o.O). I hope you like it; I know that this may seem to be taking a bit to get through this whole situation, but trust me that by the end of it all, you will understand a lot about- well, you'll see lol don't want to give anything away, now do I ;)

* * *

Al felt a wave on confusion wash over him as he watched his brother approach Dmitri from across the room, a devious smile on his face. Dmitri stood facing away from Ed, her hands busy working on wiping down the book case. Dmitri had decided to dust the whole house that day, and only had the study left to do. Al and Ed had been studying hard until she came into the room, and suddenly it seemed as if Ed couldn't concentrate anymore, which threw Al for quite the loop. Ed, unable to concentrate on a _book_? Now he was sure he could say he's seen just about everything.

If had had his face, he would be furrowing his brow as he watched Ed lean over Dmitri's shoulder, seeming to whisper something in her ear. Dmitri then laughed a little, a small blush coming to her cheeks as she turned a little towards Ed, whispering something back to him that seemed to have startled him. He backed away from her, his face a bright red and scowl plastered across his face.

"You play dirty..." Al heard Ed grumble out, which earned snicker from Dmitri who turned back to what she had been doing.

"Stoop to my level and you'll see just how much fun you could have Ed." She said over her shoulder making Ed scoff. "And for goodness sake, step up your game. You can't expect to beat me with such childish words..." Ed huffed, turning on his heel and stalking over to Al who was rubbing the back of his neck in confusion.

This is what had been confusing Al over the last week. Ed and Dmitri often shared little moments like this, the two of them whispering to each other, looking completely at ease until one of them would say something (and Al didn't know what it was they where talking about) and the other would blush or stammer, or in some cases (though it was most Dmitri at said times) laugh out loud making the person who had spoken blush and sputter like an idiot. They would separate then, and hardly acknowledge each other for a while, but then the whole process would start over again. It was almost like a strange dance, one that Dmitri seemed to be leading in most of the time as it was more then likely that Ed would be the first to back down-

"I can't stand that woman." Ed huffed out as he plopped down on the ground beside Al who jumped in surprise.

"Ummm, brother?"

"She's so damn full of herself it's sickening-"

"Brother-"

"I'll have to wipe that smug smirk off her face-"

"Ed!" Al half shouted making Ed jump a little.

"Jeeze Al, did you have to shout? I'm sitting right here..." Ed said with annoyance making Al sigh in defeat. "What's up?"

"I should be asking _you_ that; what's going on between you and Dmitri? I mean, not that I would mind, but are you two-" Ed suddenly gave Al a look of death, his finger pointing in his face threateningly.

"_Do not finish that sentence..._" Al held his hands up in surrender, letting out a little 'meep' of panic.

"O-Ok! So there's nothing there, I get it! So then, what are you two doing?" Ed sighed, relaxing against the wall a little and thumbing through one of the many books that lay around them.

"It's... kind of stupid. Dmitri told me that she likes to embarrass me just _because, _so I kind of decided that I was going to do that same to her." Al's shoulders slumped.

"Really? That's why you two are acting so weird around each other? Because Dmitri embarrassed you?" Ed huffed.

"I told you it was stupid..."

"What did she do?" Al asked making Ed's face light up like a Christmas tree. "Wait... is this about that kiss she gave you?!" Ed panicked and waved his hands around, hissing at Al to shut up before Dmitri heard him talking. "Brother... is that what she means when she tell's you to step up your game?"

"W-what do you mean?!" Ed asked in a hushed tone, his eyes glancing over to make sure Dmitri hadn't heard them. She had apparently found a book that had looked interesting as she now flicked through it's pages, her dust rag draped over her shoulder.

"Have you kissed her back yet?" Al asked as if it was the most obvious thing to do. If Ed had been drinking something, he would have spit it all over himself and Al.

"D-don't be a pervert! _No _I haven't kissed her back, and I don't plan to! I refuse to stoop down to her level!" Ed said, his fist's balled up in frustration and his face set in a scowl. Al chuckled, shaking his head.

"Then I'm afraid that you've already lost brother."

"What?! I have not!" Ed ranted making Al wave his hands in a hope of calming Ed down.

"But brother, Dmitri _is _willing to do that kind of stuff in order to win; she may be playing a little dirty, but from what I've seen it's going to take that kind of stuff to get a reaction out of her. What have you been doing up until now?" Ed's face became hot once again making him turn away to hide his embarrassment._  
_

"I-I- I don't want to talk about this! It's embarrassing enough as it is!" Al sighed.

"You haven't really done anything have you?" Ed twitched a little, unwilling to justify Al's assumption with an answer. Because he knew Al was right.

"I-I've been complimenting her, ok? About her cleaning and cooking and stuff..." Al tried hard to hide his laughter but it wasn't hard for Ed to understand why Al was suddenly shaking like a leaf. "Hey! Don't laugh at me! Like you could do any better!" Al shrugged his shoulders.

"Dmitri hears that kind of stuff all the time from Tucker and Nina; she's used to it. If you wan't to truly get under her skin, try doing something she isn't used to. Like, I don't know... try telling her she's beautiful, or hold her hand or something." Al rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's so weird giving you advice on girls brother; aren't you supposed to know more about them then me? I mean, you _are_ the older brother." Ed grumbled and crossed his arms behind his head, an agitated frown pulling at his lips.

"Like I've had time to learn anything about girls; Winry's the only girl I've ever interacted with, and it normally ends with me running for my life because I damaged her 'babies'. And Winry's _never_ even thought about doing to me what Dmitri does. It's border line, umm..."

"Sexual harassment?" Al supplies making Ed's cheeks go bright red.

"S-shut up... look, the point is I don't like this touchy-feely crap, so it's hard for me to do anything that oversteps that boundary." Ed said, his eyes falling closed in concentration. "To be honest, some of the crap she pull's... I haven't had any of that since mom died. It feels... weird." Al heard the deep undertones of anger and sadness that laced it's way into Ed's voice despite his attempt to block it out.

"Did you tell her any of this? I'm sure if you did, she would back off. I mean, to her this is just some kind of game..." Ed's eyes snapped open at that, a devious smile tugging at his lips.

"A game I plan on winning!" He said evilly making Al move as if he was rolling his eyes.

"So... did she ever ask about what happened? I know she saw your arm at least..." Ed's playful aura deflated, a serious note coming to his face.

"No. She asked to see it up close, but she refused to ask me about what happened." Al glanced over at Dmitri to see her now sitting a the desk, completely lost on the book she had found, her fingers playing with the end of her lose braid. "Well, that's not quite right. She know's what happened, she just..." Ed sighed, sitting forward and dragging his knees up to his chest, hugging them lightly. "She didn't _want_ to know the details. She didn't even ask who we tried to bring back."

"Really?" Al asked incredulously. Ed nodded, his eyes looking so solemn and lost that Al was a little concerned. "Why?"

"'Don't ask, Don't tell'... that's her code. She told me she knew enough to understand what had happened..." Ed glanced at his right hand, the automail covered by his black jacket and his ever present white glove. He thought back to what she had said, about his automail being beautiful. Part of him wanted to tell Al about it, but another part argued not to. Like he should keep that memory for himself, almost like a keep-sake. But why?

"Dmitri sure is a mystery, huh brother?" Ed hummed in agreement. "Did she say anything else?"

"No, she just-" Ed paused, the image of Dmitri's scar flashing across his mind followed by the soft smile she had warn after he had repeated her own philosophy to her. Should he tell Al about that? No; if she had wanted everyone to know about it, then she wouldn't have kept it a secret. "She just left after kissing the palm of my hand. That's really what started this whole battle."

Al giggled making Ed blush like mad. "She kissed your automail? That must have tasted horrible!" Al said, clutching his sides as if he felt pain from trying to hide his laughter. Ed punched Al in the shoulder with his automail arm, causing Al to go crashing to the side though he it didn't really phase him. "T-that's so rich! It's perfect!" Ed stood up and over Al, ready to start a brawl when the person of his plight came to his side.

"What are you two doing over here?" She looked between the two of them, noting Ed's red face and Al's unstoppable laughter. "On second thought, I don't even wan't to know." Dmitri said with a shake of her head. She turned to Ed. "Give me your jacket; I'm gonna do laundry and that thing could probably stand on it's own with how often you wear it." Ed rolled his eyes but undid the snap and removed the jacket, handing it to Dmitri who smiled appreciatively. "Al, tonight before we go to bed I'd like to wash your cloth too; maybe I can get that stain from Nina out of it." She said making Al nod in agreement. She smiled back at him then picked herself up onto her toes and planted a light kiss to Ed's cheek. "Be good, and please try not to damage Al to much, ok? I'll be back in an hour with lunch." Ed's face was red hot now, his eyes wide and his stomach doing that weird back-flip thing.

"I-I-I...ok..." He said making her giggle as she waltzed out of the room. Al started snickering all over again after Dmitri had left the room much to Ed's embarrassment.

"Nice recovery brother; you're right, you have this game in the bag." Al said, his tone pure sarcasm. "Maybe you should stop being such a prude-"

"I'M NOT A PRUDE!" Al snickered.

"Prove it." He said making Ed frown. "You shouldn't be scared to act that way towards someone. Flirting is a good thing, even if it doesn't mean anything. Who know's, you might even like it." Ed grumbled and went to walk away; he's had enough of this embarrassing talk-

"AHH!" He was suddenly tackled by a white fluff ball of doom, aka, Alexander. "YOU STUPID MUTT! GET OFF ME!"

"Woof!"

Nina came running in a few seconds later, jumping on to Al who was still on the floor. All was sure to catch her before she landed on him, keeping her from getting hurt. "Big brother! You and little big brother-" there was a shout of indignation from under Alexander," Should come play with me! Look what Big Sister got for me!" Nina crawled off of Al and reached into a small purse that hung off her shoulder. She had started carrying it after Dmitri had shown her that she could carry her toys inside it. From the small pink bags depths she pulls out a sketch pad and a pack of crayons. "See! Big Sister said that she wanted to hang some of my pictures up around the house, so she got me a new coloring book and crayons!"

"That's great Nina! Do you wan't me to help you draw a picture for her?" Al asked making Nina nod her head quickly. Ed had managed to wiggle his way out from under Alexander and was now patting the dog's head despite his annoyance. Nina handed Ed a red crayon much to his curiosity.

"Here you go Little Big Brother; let's all draw a picture for Big Sister! I bet it would make her really happy!" Nina said cutely, cutting off any objections Ed was going to make. How could he say no to those eyes! Damn this child and her cuteness!

"...Ok. What are we going to draw for her?" Nina laid down on the floor, opening her sketch pad to the first blank page. Ed and Al laid next to her, each propped up on their elbows.

"Hmmm... oh I know! We should draw her a picture of our family!" Nina said making Ed's eyes go wide and Al to take in a short breath. "I bet she would love to have a picture of all of us. She could take it with her when she goes away, so she'll always have us with her!" Nina said innocently making Ed smile softly. Nina turned to Ed making him lean back so he wasn't right in her face. "I'm going to draw _you _Little Big Brother! And daddy! Why don't you draw Big Brother? And Big Brother, you can draw Alexander!" Al quickly agreed, looking at Ed over the top of Nina's head making him sigh.

"Ok, sound's like a good plan-oof!" Alexander chose that time to lay beside Ed, putting his massive head on Ed's back and useing him as a pillow. "Damn it mutt, get _off _of me!" Ed demanded though he didn't try to move Alexander. The dog just huffed and snuggled closer making Ed's brow twitch. "Fine. FINE! But just this once, ok?!" Alexander let out a happy bark.

* * *

Dmitri sighed as she wiped the sweat off her brow, having hung that last of the laundry out to dry. A breeze blew making her shiver a little; it was getting colder out by the day. It wouldn't be to long before she'd have to start drying the cloths in the house; damn it. She picked up the laundry basket and turned to walk into the house only to let out a little shrike of surprise when she came face to chest with Shou. "OH! Goodness Shou, you scared the daylight out of me!" She said with a laugh at Shou's sheepish grin.

"Please forgive me, I didn't realize you where so lost in thought or I would have announced myself." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I just wanted to check in on you. Nina told me that you weren't feeling to well a few days ago, and I, well..." Shou's cheeks turned a light shade of pink making Dmitri chuckle.

"I'm fine now; I think I just spent to much time near the heat of the stove is all." She said making Shou sigh in relief.

"I'm glad to hear it. Where is Nina right now, if you don't mind me asking." Dmitri raised a brow at him.

"Of course I don't mind; she's your daughter after all." Dmitri said making Shou blush once again. "I assume she is with the boy's in the study; something about wanting to draw with them." Dmitri said, chuckling a bit. "She really has grown attached to them in such a short amount of time. But I must admit it is nice having Al around; he keep's her busy through out the day, so the cleaning didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would." Shou laughed and nodded his head.

"Indeed, I've seen them playing often in the garden; it's reassuring knowing she is in such good hands." Dmitri nodded as she adjusted the pins holding Ed's jacket on the line. For such a small piece of clothing, it sure got heavy when it was wet. "And what of Edward? Has he made an progress in his studies?"

"He's been going non-stop since he came here." Dmitri said, her lips pulling into a small frown. "It's like pulling teeth to get him to take a break every once in a while. I swear, if it wasn't for me he'd have withered away to nothing by now." Her tone turned teasing near the end making Shou frown a little. Dmitri didn't notice though as she fingered the edge of Ed's jacket sleeve. "He can be such a child; I think the only thing he's truly excels at is making people worry over him."

They stood in silence for a little while, one that was relaxed for one side but strained on the other. "Do you care for him? Edward, that is." Dmitri jumps in surprise at the sudden question, her eyes furrowing in confusion.

"I- I don't know. If I do, it's as a friend. You know how I am... I don't think I could ever trust anyone past that point... not again." She said with a frown, her left arm coming to wrap around her abdomen defensively. "And even if I could come to think of anyone like that, I'd most likely keep it to myself, particularly when it comes to these boys. They have enough to worry about, they don't need my fucked up emotions to get in their way." Shou moved so quick that Dmitri hardly had time to register what was happening before she was pulled into his chest, the empty laundry basket falling from her hold as Shou suddenly embraced her. Her brain fired off all kinds of warning bell's to her; this wasn't like Shou at all, to suddenly embrace anyone. He had always been standoffish, hesitant to make contact with anyone, even his own daughter.

"S-Shou...?"

His hold only tightened. "You don't have to hide yourself around me Dmitri. I won't run away scared, and I won't see you as a burden." Dmitri felt her eyes widen considerably. "All I want, is for you to be happy... for you to always be safe. You and Nina; you're all I have left in this world... I don't wan't to lose you... not like I lost Miranda..."

"S-Shou, w-what are you-?!" A small prick on the nap of her neck made Dmitri wince; did she just get bit by a bug? Damn pests... Dmitri suddenly felt very tired, like she hadn't slept in days. More warning bell's went off in her head, but she was so groggy she couldn't tell what they where saying anymore.

"I'm sorry... I'm going to make you better then you are now... you and Nina..." She heard Shou say. Or was it Shou? Was she dreaming all if this? She felt her legs give way underneath her, but a sudden movement let her know that she was now being carried. To where she didn't know, and she really didn't care. Her head was starting to throb; it felt like someone was smashing her brain apart with a sledge hammer.

"S-Shou...?" She felt the subtle movements signalling that who ever was holding her was walking. The sudden warmth that over took her let her know that they had entered the house, and the hollow foot steps alerted her to them climbing the stairs.

"Dmitri?" Though it was muffled by her spinning head, she recognized Al's voice through the haze.

"Big sister! Daddy, what's wrong with her?" Dmitri felt the fog lift a little at the sound of Nina's worried voice, every instinct in her body telling her she needed to get to her. Why? Was she hurt? Did something happen? Was something happening?

"Nina...?" Dmitri mumbled, trying to turn her head to look at Nina who was standing in the doorway of the study, Ed and Al standing behind her, a worried look plastered on Ed's face.

"What happened?" Ed demanded, his tone hard as stone.

"Dmitri isn't feel to well it would seem. I found her collapsed in the garden just a few minutes ago." Dmitri tried to furrow her brow, concentrating on what had occurred in the garden. Was that true? Had she been unconscious when she had been embraced by Shou? That made more sense then him hugging her out of the blue... Al gasped in shock.

"It's just like in the kitchen..." Ed turned to Al in confusion.

"The kitchen? Al, what are you talking about?"

"Yes, are you saying that this has happened before?" Shou asked, his tone sounding a little harsher then normal displaying his displeasure about the situation.

"Ah, well..." Al said with hesitation. "Last week, Nina and I went into the kitchen while Dmitri was cooking dinner. She didn't know we where there, but I watched her stumble a bit and burn her hand on the stove when this sudden dizzy spell hit her. She knocked a bowl off the table and almost fell into the broken glass. If I hadn't come in at that exact moment, I'm sure she would have gotten badly injured." Al said, guilt heavy in his voice. Shou sighed, his shoulders going ridged with barely restrained annoyance. "I'm sorry. I know I should have said something, but Dmitri insisted that she was fine, and that the heat from the stove had made her dizzy."

A moment of silence passed between them before Shou sighed, the tension releasing from his shoulders. "It's ok Alphonse; you had no way of knowing. Dmitri is so good at hiding her weaknesses, it's almost impossible to know when she is ill."

"So what do we do now?" Ed asked as Nina sniffled a little. Al placed a hand on top of her head, doing his best to comfort her.

"I've already given her some medicine. I think it's best if we let her rest now. Perhaps you boys could keep an eye on Nina for us while I tend to her?" Shou asked. Ed and Al both nodded, the first taking Nina's hand in his own.

"You can count on us Mr. Tucker." Al said with Ed nodding in agreement.

* * *

Later that night Ed stood beside Al as he tucked Nina into bed. "Don't worry Nina; I'm sure Demi will be ok. She just need's to rest for a little bit." Nina nodded, though a few small tears where still in the corners of her eyes.

"Are you really sure?" Nina asked making Al look to Ed for reassurance. Ed nodded his head, a small smile coming to his face.

"Yeah; Dmitri is to stubborn to let a little sickness keep her down for to long. She'll probably be complaining about being stuck in bed all day tomorrow." Nina smiled a little clutching her blankets under her chin.

"O-ok... it's just..." Nina sighed making Al pat her head worriedly.

"It's ok Nina; you can tell us about your worries." Nina glanced to the side, looking at Alexander who was curled up beside her in bed.

"I- just don't tell daddy, ok? He doesn't like it when I talk about this kind of stuff..." Al crossed over his chest plate with his index finger.

"Cross my heart, we won't tell you dad." Al said. Ed nodded in agreement, mimicking Al's actions. Nina smiled and sat up, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"Ok... it's just, I was talking to my daddy and he told me that my mommy left us to go back with her family. He said that mommy was really sick, and that he couldn't take care of her; that's why she left. But..." Nina reached under her pillow and pulled out a picture she had drawn, the edges of it yellow from age. "But mommies never written me back... I'm worried about Big Sister because... I don't think my mommy left us to go see her family. I think she-" Nina paused, unable to finish her sentence. Al gasped in shock, looking up to Ed for guidance. Ed's jaw was clenched tightly, his eyes closed to try and calm his mind.

"It's ok Nina... Dmitri's not going to go away just because she doesn't feel well." Al said, trying to be reassuring despite his own heavy thoughts.

"T-that's not why I'm worried! Ever sense I was old enough to understand that my mommy wasn't coming back I- I started to wish that Big Sister was my real mommy." Ed's eyes snapped open at the confession. "My really mommy isn't here because she was sick and now... Big Sister is sick. She's sick because I wanted her to be my mommy!" Nina said, bursting into tears much to Ed and Al's discomfort. Al waved his hands around wildly, unsure of what to do. Ed was just as lost, unused to dealing with small children.

"H-hey now! Don't cry Nina!" Al said as he patted Nina's back. "Demi wouldn't want you to be sad, alright?" Nina nodded, rubbing her eyes cutely.

"Nina," Ed said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You shouldn't blame yourself for something like this, ok? Dmitri isn't weak, she'll pull through. But until then, we have to be strong for her, ok?" Nina nodded again, a small hiccup escaping her lips. "So would you please, _please_ stop crying? If Dmitri find's out that we made you cry, she'll kill Al and I." Ed was joking of course, and it seemed to work as Nina let out a little giggle.

"D-do you still have the p-picture we drew?" Ed quirked a brow as Al reached into his chest plate (being careful not to let Nina see inside of course) and pulled out the finished work of art that the three of them had drawn just a few hours ago. On the page where crude drawings of Ed (who was trying to chase after Alexander) Al (who was holding Nina on his shoulder) Tucker (who was standing a little to the left of everyone) and Dmitri herself (who was holding Nina's hand and the back of Ed's jacket to keep him from running after Alexander). It was horrible, and crude, and most people wouldn't have even given it a second glance. But Nina's face lit up with joy as she looked upon it, tracing each of their outlines individually.

"Maybe we should frame it and put it next to Demi's bed?" Al suggested. "That way she can see it when she wakes up. I bet it would make her feel better." Nina nodded excitedly.

"I have the perfect frame!" Nina said, climbing over Ed's lap to get to the end of the bed. She opened a trunk that sat on the floor, rummaging through it before letting out a little 'a-ha' and coming back to Ed and Al's side. The frame looked a little old and worn. It was brass, and had the words 'The Greatest Gift Of All' carved along the top. In the frame was a photo of Tucker and an infant Nina who was being held by a woman that Ed guessed was her mother. She had long, light blond hair that was braided off to the side and big blue eyes that shinned with joy as she posed for the picture with her husband and new born daughter. Ed felt recognition pass through him as he studied her harder; she looked a lot like- "That's my mommy. Before she got sick that is..." Nina said as she pulled at the back of the frame, pulling the picture from the protection of the glass. "But I think... it's time to put this frame to better use. Do you think Big Sister will like it?" Ed gave Al a side glance as if to say 'did you see what I saw' to which Al answered with a small nod.

"I think she'll _love_ it Nina." Al said as he took the frame from her gently. "Now you should get to bed; Demi wouldn't be happy if she found out we kept you up past bed time."

"What about the picture?" Nina asked as Al tucked her back into bed. She let out a big yawn, her eyes growing heavy in a matter of seconds.

"Don't worry, Al and I will take care of it." Ed said, taking the frame from Al and slipping their piece of art into it. Nina smiled, her eyes starting to fall closed.

"Mkay... I love you Big Brothers..." She said groggily making Ed's shoulder's to stiff.

"We love you too Nina..." Al answer for them as he stood from his kneeling position next to the bed. Nina was out like a light seconds later, rolling over onto her side and snuggling deeper into her blankets. Ed and Al stayed there for a long time, watching her sleep peacefully.

"Brother...?" Al said, making Ed glance over at him.

"She'll be ok, Al." Ed said as he stood and walked towards the door. "She has to be." Al sighed as Ed disappeared through the door before following after him, trying hard not to make any noise that could wake up Nina.

"Do you think it's a coincidence?" Ed glanced at Al as they walked down the hall towards Dmitri's room. "I mean, you saw the picture... you must have noticed."

"Yeah." Ed said speculatively. He shook his head. "It has to be; it's not abnormal for people around here to have blond hair and blue eyes. And Dmitri probably just over worked herself. Despite what she may think, she's not invincible." Al sighed, his hands clasp in front of him. Ed quirked a brow at him. "Something else is bothering you, isn't it."

Al jumped, and if he had had a flesh face he would have blushed at being caught worrying. "It's just... I'm thinking about what happened to mom. She was sick for a long time too-"

"Don't, Al." Ed suddenly snapped, his fist's clenching at his side. "This is nothing like what happened to mom, ok?" Al flinched a little making Ed sigh. "...I'm sorry. Just- don't think like that, ok? Dmitri's going to be fine. Tucker won't let anything like that happen to her, especially since he has the means to get her any treatment she may need."

Ed and Al, having made it to Dmitri's room, pushed the door open only to come to a dead stop when the saw Tucker leaning over Dmitri's unconscious form, his fingers pressed gently against the side of her throat. A frown pulled at his lips as he pulled back, noting something on a clipboard. "Interesting..." he mumbled to himself before pulling a vial out of his pocket along with a syringe, filling the needle canister with some strange looking green liquid and moving to prick Dmitri's arm with it.

Ed wasn't sure what had come over him, but every fiber in his body told him to stop what was happening, and being an impulsive individual, he listened to his gut instincts. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Tucker jumped, standing straight up and wiping around to see Ed and Al standing behind him, Ed's face screwed up into a look of plain furry. Al grabbed hold of Ed's shoulder. Tucker's face paled a little, only adding to Ed's screaming bell's.

"Brother, don't-"

"What the hell is that stuff? It's only been five hours since Dmitri passed out, and I don't remember seeing any doctor coming in for a visit, so it can't be medicine." Al gasped; what Ed had said was true. Tucker hadn't called for a doctor that they knew of, and they would have seen one come in as the only way to Dmitri's room was to pass Nina's, which is where they had been for the rest of the day.

"Edward, Alphonse... I wasn't expecting the two of you to stop by for a visit this late at night." Tucker said, a little color coming back to his face.

"I bet you weren't. I'll ask you again- what is that stuff you're trying to give to Dmitri? And you better tell me the truth..." Ed ground out making Tucker stiffen up.

"It's a simple fever reducer; she started to run a high fever about an hour ago, and since it hasn't retreaded on it's own, I am going to give her something to help." Tucker explained, tossing the vial of strange liquid towards Ed who caught it easily and read the label. Damn; it really was a fever reducer. Then why was his brain still telling him there was danger around. He glanced around the room, before striding over to the windows and peeking out them, expecting to see someone staring back at him. Nothing; he didn't see a damn thing. He reached up and locked them just to be sure.

"Brother...?" Al asked hesitantly from the door way. He turned to see both Al and Tucker staring at him, the other giving him what he took as a concerned stare.

"Is everything alright Edward? You seem troubled..." Tucker said as he returned to his task, inserting the syringe into Dmitri's skin and injecting the medicine. Dmitri's face scrunched up in mild discomfort, a small whimper escaping her lips that made Ed's warning bell's go off again before she relaxed into her pillows, all tension draining from her face as she fell into a fitful sleep. Ed sighed, shaking his head as Tucker capped the needle and returned it to his pocket.

"It's nothing... I guess I'm just tired." Ed said as he eyed the vial that was still in his hand. He didn't understand what just happened; of course Tucker wasn't trying to hurt Dmitri. He loved her like his own daughter for god's sake. He walked over and handed the vial back to Tucker who gave him a wiry smile. "I'm sorry." Tucker chuckled and placed a reassuring hand on Ed's shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

"It's ok; we've all had a trying day. She should rest a little easier now that the medicine is helping her battle the fever." Tucker said before heading towards the door. "You should get some sleep, Edward. I'd save any further research for tomorrow. Good night, boys." Tucker said as he exited the room, leaving behind a still ruffled Ed and a skeptical Al.

Ed sighed after a moment and walked over to Dmitri's bedside, placing the frame that was still clutched in his right hand on the stand so that the drawn picture was facing her. Al came into the room, looking at Dmitri over Ed's head.

"She look's so... small." Al said making Ed sigh. Al was right; sure, Dmitri was small anyways, but right now. She looked so tiny, and fragile. Like one wrong move would break her. Her skin, which had always been pale, seemed nearly transparent with the lack of color that was in her cheeks. A light sweat clung to her forehead, making her hair damp and sticky. Ed removed the glove from his automail hand and placed it gently against her forehead. Dmitri sighed a little in her sleep, making his brow furrow a little in worry. He pulled his right hand away and removed the glove from his left hand, checking her forehead with it. She was still warm, the fever fighting back against the medication with a vengeance. "Brother..."

"She still has a fever... it'll probably take a while for the medication to take effect." Ed said, trying hard to convince not only Al but himself that everything was going to be ok. Ed reached over and under her head, pulling it up a little to pull her long hair off her neck, hoping that it would allow her to cool down a little faster. As he moved her head back his fingers danced over something strange on the back of her neck. Lifting her head again, he inspected the back of her neck, finding a strange red mark just at the nap of her neck. It looked strangely like- Ed shook his head, trying hard to ignore the small warning bell's screaming in his head.

He didn't understand why he was suddenly to alert. His nerves must be shot from the events of the day. Tucker was right, he just needed some sleep. He placed Dmitri back against the pillows, brushing her bangs out of her face before he could catch himself. A small blush came to his cheek's as he stood abruptly, making his way to the door, passing Al by. "Come one Al, we should let her rest. We'll come check in on her in the morning."

Al hmmed in agreement, exiting the room and making his way with Ed down the hall. "That was awfully sweet of you brother... maybe you could use that in your 'battle'..." Al said teasingly making Ed's shoulders go ridged, his face turning many shades of red.

"I don't have to take this from you! _I'm_ the older brother!"

* * *

There you go, poetry...

I changed the back story for Nina's mom a little bit, so that everything would be a little more consistent. Since you all know the story behind Tuckers wife, then I'm sure you can see where this is going... if only you could read my mind muwahahaha!


	7. Visitors

Chapter 7

* * *

It's been a week since Dmitri had collapsed in the garden, and a horrible pattern was starting to take form indicating a far worse problem then Ed and Al had expected. Dmitri would wake up every morning, feeling and looking a little more sick, and little more pale and tired as hell. It was like she wasn't sleeping at all when in fact she was getting more sleep now then she ever had before in her life. By 2pm, she would fall asleep somewhere in the house. At the kitchen table, in the garden (which worried everyone due to the decrees in the temperature out side), in the study- where ever she happened to be. There was one time Ed found her sleeping on the stairs leading to the bed rooms.

She would always wake up around four in the afternoon, and would do her best to try and stay awake in order to help Ed cook dinner, seeing as they had stopped letting her do many of the tasks she normally did. But even during this time, all she could really do was polish the silverware and try not to dose off. Around 730, she would normally fall asleep and need to be carried to bed (which was normally performed by Tucker), given a dose of medicine to help her with the fever that would crop up, and then sleep through the morning until around 10am.

Today though, Ed was happy to notice, Dmitri seemed more like her usual self. She seemed more awake, and had a little color back in her cheeks; maybe they had finally beaten this thing. Ed watched her from his spot on the floor in the study as she drew pictures with Nina, a small smile on her face. She was still wearing her bed cloths, not having the energy to change but, he didn't care. Her night cloths where simple enough, an over-sized t-shirt and a pair of her normal black shorts. Ed frowned; he wished she would put on longer pant's; what if she got to cold? Her hair was clean today too thanks to Nina, who had helped her bathe since the boy's weren't able to and Dmitri didn't seem to keen on having Tucker assist her. Not that Ed would have allowed it anyways; it had been weird when Tucker had offered, but Nina was quick to the rescue. She hadn't braided it today, and instead allowed it to flow freely down her back.

She glanced up then, her luminescent indigo eyes locking with his golden ones for a second before she smiled gently and turned back to Nina. Ed felt his stomach do that weird flip again, but didn't dwell on it to much. He had more important things to worry about then that. "Edward~~" Dmitri said in a sing song voice breaking Ed from his thoughts.

"What?"

"Stop starring at me; I know you're madly in love, but it's kind of creepy." Ed snorted, his cheek's only turning a couple shades darker then normal.

"So modest; how could someone _not _like you." Ed said, sarcasm dripping off every word. Dmitri laughed sarcastically, flipping him the bird over the top of Nina's head so she wouldn't see. "That hurts my feelings."

"Good, it was meant to." They fell into a comfortable silence after that with Ed diving back into his reading and Dmitri talking quietly with Nina about the picture they where drawing. Al glanced between the two of them, letting out an exasperated sigh before also returning to the book in his hand. A half hour passes by quickly before Dmitri stands up and stretches, letting out a small yawn as she headed for the door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Ed asked with out even looking up from his book.

"I'm going to go grab the laundry off the line and maybe fold it." Ed glanced at her with a furrowed brow and a small frown. She sighed, walking over to him and kneeling down at his side. "I promise to sit if I get dizzy, ok? I'm just tired of not doing anything..." Ed scrutinized her face; she still looked tired, but there was still some color in her cheeks. Maybe just this once... Ed huffed, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned away from her pleading eyes.

"Fine, but one sign of you fainting again and I'll chain you to the bed." He said with a serious tone. Dmitri snickered and leaned in, whispering in his ear.

"Promise? It's not nice to tease me like that..." Ed felt his face grow hot, before he cleared his throat, turning to look her dead in the eyes. He couldn't believe he was about to do this.

"I'm not cruel enough to tease." Ed says, his voice staying surprisingly firm despite his rattling nerves. He had been thinking over what Al had said, and he had been right; the only way to win was to stoop to her level. "In fact, if anything you should be worried. You know how persistent I can be when I believe I am right." Shock. That's what registered on Dmitri's face, pure and simple. The shock gave way to a heavy blush and pursed lips. Ed snickered in victory, and decided to take it one step further by brushing her lose bangs out of her face. "Now, go do the laundry before I change my mind and force you to bed instead." Her face got, if possible, even redder as she quickly shuffled out of the room. Not expecting that reaction, Ed furrowed his brow in confusion before what he said last went back over his mind making him go stiff before busting out in full on laughter. He hand't even meant for it to come out like that, but it had been just enough to make Dmitri scurry out of the room from embarrassment.

"Brother..." Al said in a mock scolding tone. "You're supposed to embarrass her, not give her a heart attack." Ed was starting to wind down from his winning high. "Besides, she run's warm enough already..." Ed waved Al's worry off.

"She'll be ok; she's just in shock cause she didn't know I had it in me to be smooooth." Ed said cockily. Al moved as if rolling his eyes.

"Oh brother..."

* * *

Dmitri fought the blush from her face as best she could as she pulled the laundry from the line and threw it into the basket. She didn't know why she was so effected by Ed's antics; maybe it was because he sounded so _serious_ about it. Sure, they where playing this game (though they hadn't really played much since she gotten sick), but why was it the first time Ed makes a _real_ try at it, he had to be damn _good_ at it! Did he even know what he was doing?! No, obviously not, he has no idea was seduction is, let alone how to go about doing it. Stupid boy, getting her flustered like that. He's probably laughing his ass off right now-

"Hello." A large hand fell on Dmitri's shoulder making her scream and jump in the air like a baby, having not been expecting anyone to be in the garden with her.

"Dmitri! Wha-? The hell are you doing here you bastard?" Ed appeared out of no where, gaping in frustration and confusion at Mustang who was standing with his hand on Dmitri's shoulder who looked startled to see Mustang was behind her.

"Wha-what? Ed! Did you just jump out a second story window?!" She shouted for loss of anything else to say. Ed huffed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I thought you where in trouble! The hell are you screaming like that for anyways?!" Another voice cut in before Dmitri could retaliate to his shouting.

"We're sorry to stop by unannounced," Hawkeye said as she came out from behind Mustang. "The Colonel startled Dmitri upon arrival resulting in her screaming." Mustang sighed, removing his hand from Dmitri's shoulder. By now everyone, including Tucker, was standing outside. Nina ran to Dmitri, hugging her leg.

"Big Sister! Are you ok?" Dmitri sighed, giving Mustang a sever death glare.

"I'm fine; I was just startled by the appearance of a strange face was all." Mustang looked highly offended at Dmitri calling his face 'strange', witch made Ed snicker in sick amusement. "Now that we have been re-united, perhaps you could inform us of the reason behind your visit."

Mustang cleared his throat, fixing his face back into a look of indifference. "We are here for a follow up visit, to check on Ed's progress in his research." He said making Ed rub the back of his neck. Dmitri smiled.

"That's sweet of you to check in on Ed; he's been quite the handful." Ed gaped at her making her stick her tongue out at him. "But I must insist that you stay for dinner. We could catch up a little." She was speaking more towards Hawkeye by the end of her sentence, much to Mustangs annoyance. Mustang and Ed both wen't to argue that it wasn't necessary, but Hawkeye beat them to the punch.

"We will take you up on that offer. Some time away from the office would be beneficial." She said making Mustang gap at her. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye making him go stiff and clear his throat.

"My lieutenant is correct. We would be honored to join you for dinner." He said with a forced tone. Ed slumped over.

"Glad to have you..." He said in defeat. He stood up straight, giving Dmitri a determined stare. "Don't you think you should go lay down then?" Dmitri pouted; she didn't wan't to lay down! She wanted the stay up and chat with Riza! "Don't give me that look!" Mustang glanced between the two of them, a curious look to his eye that he quickly hid with his mask of indifference.

"You should listen to him Lead; you look a little worse for wear." Mustang said making Dmitri scoff and cross her arms in defiance.

"What ever. If I sleep now, then I might be able to stay up a bit later, yeah?" She said giving Ed a meaningful stare. He crossed his arm's in thought, trying his hardest not to look at her directly.

"... I guess. But you better get up there now or I'll have to change my mind and boot this bastard to the curb." Dmitri did a little woop before taking Nina's hand and running past Ed, making sure to plant a small kiss to his cheek in full view of Mustang and Hawkeye (who both looked like deer caught in head lights), before dashing into the house leaving a very embarrassed and flustered Ed to the wolves. "H-hey! Don't run around like that!" He shouted as he spun on his heel and shook his fist in a threatening way.

"Fullmetal." Mustang said making Ed stiffen up and look at him over his shoulder, much like a child being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I'm looking forward to a _full_ report from you. Shall we move this to the living room?"

* * *

Ed sips from his cup, his brows furrowed in annoyance. "I see..." Mustang said from across the coffee table, his arms crossed over his chest and a teasing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he tries to contain himself. "So Lead has fallen ill. Perhaps she caught this _little _bug from someone else..." Ed nearly spit his tea out in his outrage while Al chuckled sheepishly.

"Who you calling a-"

"Well at least that explains why she looks so down. I thought she was just getting sick of having you around all the time Ed." Mustang said, cutting off Eds rant much to Ed's further annoyance. "How long has she been this way?"

Ed huff's, slouching back in his seat. "What's it to you? We have the situation under control." He said making Al sigh in exasperation.

"Brother..."

"What?" Ed wined back.

"Maybe the Colonel will know what's wrong with Demi and possibly be able to help..." Al said while rubbing the back of his helmet nervously. Ed scoffs, eyes Mustang begrudgingly.

"Fine... she's been sick like this for almost a week. That's how long Tucker and I have known about it anyways..." Ed gave Al an accusing glare that made Al huff and cross his arms hotly.

"Demi's excuse made sense at the time! And it's not like I could check her for a fever!" Mustang sighed and rubbing his left temple.

"And what of your research? Have you come across any leads yet? You've been at this for nearly a month." Ed blanches, poking his fingers together and glancing off to the side.

"W-well... not exactly..." He mumbles out earning a hum of interest from Mustang. "A lot of the research we've come across wasn't completed, so I'm having to compile my own notes and theories based on what I've read."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that," Tucker said as he came back into the room. He had taken Nina up for a nap shortly after everyone had settled into the living room, and had just returned carrying a new pot of tea. "Most of the time my experiments have failed, so I would scrap them and start all over again. Once a falling out occurs during a chimera transmutation, there isn't a whole lot left to work with you see. Just a few spare parts." Ed grimaced; judging by Tuckers notes he had come up with the idea that this line of work was messy, but the way Tucker spoke so casually about animals exploding from the inside out made Ed feel a little sick. Al made an unsure sound, sharing a look with his brother that only they could decipher as 'freaky'.

"It's alright Mr. Tucker; your research is the best lead Ed and I have found!" Al say's while waving his hands reassuringly.

"Al's right; it's not to difficult to pick up on what you where aiming for," Ed said with a big smile making Tucker chuckle and nod.

"You boy's really give me to much credit," he said modestly as he sets the tea pot down. "Thank you all the same."

* * *

_"...Who are you?" A nine year old girl with white blond hair and dull indigo eyes stood staring into the white void that surrounded her. She didn't know who she was supposed to be talking to... only that they where there._

_"I'm so glad you asked..." THEY said, their voices clashing together in perfect dysfunction sending a shiver down the little girls spine. "I am everything... I am god... I am Truth... and I am you..."_

_The little girl looks down at her hands blankly. "You are...me? But... if you are me, then... who am I?"_

_"You are the requirement. The necessary. The creator..."_

_The little girl's brow furrowed, her lips tugging into a frown. "The requirement... are you going to eat me? Like daddy?" Something moved in her peripheral vision making her head snap in that direction. She could hardly make out the slightly darker outline of what looked like a human, the only thing visible on their body being the slight shadowing of their smile._

_"No. I need you to go back... to fulfill your duty. You're payment will be collected at a later time." The strange white out man gave a __sinister smile _making the little girl shiver in fear. A massive stone gate appeared behind the strange man making the little girl take a step back. It snapped open, revealing a wide staring eye. "I look forward to seeing your work... creator..."

_The little girl watched in horror as ribbons of black arms and hands came spiraling out of the eye. She screamed in terror as they latched onto her-_

Dmitri jerked awake, her body jolting into an upright position as a small scream escaped her lips. Her body shook with fear, a cold sweat covering her from head to toe despite her having kicked her blankets off the bed. She gasped for air, her eyes darting around the room expecting the black arms to coming racing towards her again, dragging her back to that white void.

A sigh escaped her lips when she realized that it had all been a dream. A horrible, vivid dream... a memory she thought she had locked away a long time ago. Dmitri fell back on her pillows, laying her right arm across her eyes and taking a long, soothing breath. It's been a long time since she's dreamed about that night...

"Big sister?" Dmitri peeks out from under her arm to see Nina standing beside her bed, a worried frown on her lips. "Are you ok? I heard you shout..." Dmitri sighed and sat up, pulling Nina onto the bed and into her lap, hugging her tightly.

"I'm ok princess... just had a bad dream." Dmitri said, trying hard to reassure Nina and herself. Nina snuggles into her arms, content with Dmitri's comforting presence.

"Daddy always makes me pancakes when I have a bad dream." She said making Dmitri chuckle.

"I remember; he says that they are the happiest of food." Dmitri said with a smile; she wasn't sure where Shou had gotten the idea that pancakes make everything better, but she wasn't about to question something that seemed effective in cheering Nina up.

"I know!" Nina cried out as she pulled away from Dmitri a little, flashing her a bright smile. "We should have pancakes for dinner!" Dmitri giggled, brushing her fingers through Nina's bangs.

"Breakfast for dinner, huh? I don't see why not..." Dmitri glanced at her bedside table, seeing that is was almost 5:30. "Hmmm... I guess it wouldn't hurt to have dinner a little earlier tonight. I'm actually kind of hungry anyways." Nina clapped her hands and laughed.

"Yay! Breakfast for dinner!" Dmitri laughed with her as she stood from the bed, setting Nina down on the floor.

"Come on; we should surprise the boy's with our breakfast." Dmitri said making Nina nod her head earnestly.

* * *

"Ok... so we have all the stuff we need to make pancakes... except the skillet." Dmitri said as she looked around the kitchen. All the pots and pans normally hung on the far wall, but there was one spot that was empty. A spot that seemed to be mocking her. "So of course it's gone missing- there it is!" Dmitri glares up at the top of the large ice box where the large skillet lay, one of its handles peeking at her over the edge. "Now why the heck is it up there?"

Nina pointed up at it, a frown tugging at her lips. "How are we going to get it down?" Dmitri patted the top of her head, a reassuring smile on her face.

"Leave that to me princess."

* * *

Al sighed in exasperation as Ed and Mustang glared heatedly at each other from across the room. Hawkeye sat i silence, her arms crossed over her chest and a frown tugging at her lips as Roy and Ed spat petty insults back and forth.

"Midget!"

"Narcissist!"

"Prude!"

"WHAT?! You're still on that?!" Mustang smirks triumphantly making Ed growl and practically spit flames. "It's called being a gentleman, something you probably know nothing about you damn pervert!"

"You're calling _me_ a pervert, but I'm not the one getting all friendly with my partner now am I?" Ed gaped, his face going a brilliant shade of red. Al snickered, his shoulder shaking as he tried horribly to hide his mirth.

"F-FOR YOUR INFORMATION IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Ed shouted, nearly flipping the coffee table as he stood suddenly to his feet, his arms waving around frantically. "It's a dare, a stupid game, ok?!"

Mustang shrugs his shoulders, an innocent smile on his face. "A game that you are obviously losing. I can tell you right now, if Dmitri had offered such a challenge to _me_ I would have beaten her at her own game by now." Ed threw a book at Mustangs head, getting mild satisfaction when the pampas ass was struck square in the face.

"YOU DAMN PERVERT! YOU'RE TWICE HER AGE!" Ed was held back by the back of his jacket, thanks to Al, as he tried to throw another object at his commanding officer. "She's not even legal!"

"Indeed. Dmitri is what we men like to call jail bait." The sound of a cocking gun from his right made Mustang clear his throat. "And it is horrible that other men, who are not me, see her as such. They should all suffer horrible deaths..." Satisfied with his withdrawal, Hawkeye removed her gun from his temple.

Ed huffed and fell back into the couch, his blood still boiling a little. Damn perverted bastard...

"Speaking of Dmitri, she should be getting up any time now." Ed looked curiously at the clock; almost 5:45.

"Yeah... maybe we should get started on dinner. I don't think she'll be up for it tonight." Ed said as he stood from the couch, taking off his red jacket and tossing it across the back of the couch. Al nodded. "You guys ok with waiting here for a second? It wont take long to get it in order.

"You're ordering out aren't you." Mustang said tauntingly. Ed grumbled and rubbed the back of his neck irritably.

"Well, I never really had a reason to learn how to cook, and Tuckers so busy with his lab..." Hawkeye gave Mustang a stern stare making the Colonel break out in a cold sweat.

"We don't mind Ed; we know it's been a stressful week for you boy's." She said. Mustang sighed and nodded in agreement making Ed's shoulders relax.

"Well, I'll be right back..." He said over his shoulder as he turned to leave the room. Tucker stood up, making Ed glance at him.

"I'll come with you Edward; I need to grab something from the kitchen for my lab anyways." Ed nodded, leading the way out of the room.

Tucker and Ed had made it half way down the hall when Tucker suddenly came to a stop making Ed pause in his own trek to look over his shoulder. "You alright? Don't tell me you're getting sick now too." Ed said with a little laugh.

"I just wanted to apologize." Ed quirked a brow at him curiously. "I know this last week has been difficult, and the time I spend in the lab has made it rough on you and your brother. But you should know of appreciative I am of you watching over Nina and Dmitri while I work on my assessment projects..."

Ed rubs the back of his neck with uncertainty. "It's not problem. I mean, I know how stressful those assessment's can be and all, and I know Al really likes to play with Nina..." Ed sighs, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "And honestly it's not much to ask considering we're kind of freeloading off of you while we do our research."

Tucker chuckles and begin walking again, falling into step with Ed as they turned down yet another hallway, making their way closer to the kitchen. "It's no trouble to me to have you boys around. If anything, the timing of your inquiries was perfect. I don't know what I would have done if Dmitri had fallen ill like this with out you and Alphonse around." Ed hmmed in agreement.

"So what are you working on for your assessment? I'm sure it's bound to be earth shattering." Tucker frowned a bit, his eyes falling down cast at the thought of his past experiments.

"I'm attempting to perfect my research from Subject 45." Ed smiled excitedly.

"So another talking Chimera huh? How could it get any better then that though?"

Tucker pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his shoulders going stiff and his face paling a little. "The subject matter that I used to create it... I believe they where to old. The creatures I used where fully mature adults, stubbornly set in their ways. As such, despite how tremendous of a success it was, the creature knew that it wasn't as it should be and decided to end it's own life." Tucker smiled a little. "This time around I am trying to use younger subjects, but it is proving difficult to find the proper combination due to the hormonal imbalances that come with adolescent's."

Ed scratched his cheek in thought, partially understanding Tuckers theory. But how was a chimera that had retained it's own identity able to speak? It didn't ad up in Ed's mind, but at the same time, he had only just begun to scratch the surface of bio-transmutation. Who was he to question Tuckers theories- a loud crash from the kitchen stole him from his thoughts, making Tucker and himself stop in their tracks.

"...Is somebody here?" Ed asked suspiciously. Tucker shook his head.

"Just the Colonel and the Lieutenant..."

They stood there, waiting for any further noise to come from the kitchen. It didn't take them long to hear a distressed wail come from the darkening hall, making the hair stand up on the back of Ed's neck.

"_DADDY!"_

Ed and Tucker sped down the hall, making it to the kitchen in record time. Ed all but kicked the door down only to come to dead stop. Tucker pushed past him, making it to Nina's side who was shaking a collapsed Dmitri's shoulder hysterically. "D-daddy! She won't wake up! I-I'm s-s-s-sorry!" Nina said through her sobs. Tucker pulled her away quickly just as Mustang, Al and Hawkeye came up behind Ed, reacting to the crash. "W-why wont she w-wake up?!" Mustang pushed his way passed Ed who was shaking like a leaf, his eyes wide and un-moving from Dmitri's eerily still form.

"What the hell happened?" Mustang demanded as he turned Dmitri over onto her back, checking for a quick pulse. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ed standing there looking as if he had seen a ghost. "Fullmetal!" Mustang shouted making Ed snap back to attention with a gasp.

"B-brother..." Al's voice quivered in his distress. "Wha-"

"Ed and I where headed to the kitchen when we heard a loud crash. Nina called out; we thought she had gotten hurt while playing in here, but when we arrived we found Dmitri unconscious and Nina trying to wake her up." Tucker said as Nina buried her face into his shirt.

"I'm sorry! We wanted to m-make dinner f-for everyone!" Nina said. Tucker pet the back of her head.

"It's ok..." Tucker whispered to her. Mustang grabbed Dmitri up from the floor before turning towards Hawkeye.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye." Hawkeye and Mustang made eye contact, the first nodding in understanding before leaving the room. "Hawkeye is contacting a doctor as we speak. Fullmetal," Mustang addressed Ed who had regained a little color back to his cheeks. "Go around and gather as many coverings as you can. She's cold as ice." Ed nodded numbly. "... take Al with you." Al nodded.

"Y-yes sir..." Al grabbed Ed's shoulder, pulling the two of them from the room and towards the stairs to raid the bed room's for blankets. Mustang left the kitchen with Tucker, who was still holding Nina, following behind him.

"Do you think a doctor is necessary? Dmitri has been feeling faint for the last week; she may have just pushed herself to hard this time around." Tucker said with uncertainty. Mustang glanced at him from the corner of his eye, his gaze flickering between Tucker and little Nina.

"I didn't wan't to say anything while the boy's where there; they seemed shaken up enough." Mustang said making Tucker's brow furrow with confusion. "Dmitri's pulse is nearly nonexistent, and she is barely breathing. She's cold to the touch, a drastic difference to the fever they reported her to have." Tucker's face seemed to pale drastically. "Something tell's me this is more then just a bad cold."

* * *

Ed pull's the sheet's and blanket from his own bed, folding them up haphazardly before handing them to Al and moving on to the next room, which happened to be Dmitri's. He pull's the blanket off first, folding it like his own and laying it on top of the pile before turning to grab the sheet. He paused, a strange red stain about the size of his thumb catching his eye. He fingered the stain curiously; she must have jerked while Tucker was giving her a dose of her fever medication...

"Brother..." Al said pulling Ed from his speculation.

"Yeah?" Ed asked as he pulled the sheet off and tossed it into the corner; he'd have to find another sheet that wasn't dirty. He walked over to the closet, pulling extra coverings off the upper shelves.

"... I'm scared." Ed paused in his movements, his hands left clutching a blanket above his head. "It's just like with mom-"

"Stop it, Al." Ed snapped out at him while pulling the blanket down. "This is _nothing_ like that. Dmitri's not going to die..." _...like mom did_. Ed didn't say it out loud; he didn't have to with Al.

"But she's so sick... what if we where to late in calling the doctor?" Al asked as Ed put the final blanket on top of the pile. Ed tried his hardest to give Al an reassuring smile.

"It'll be alright Al... we're not to late. We _can't_ be..." While his words where meant to reassure his brother. So, why did he feel like it wasn't just Al he was trying to convince.

* * *

Ok guys! I know this seem's to be dragging on but... believe me, once I get past this part, the story will start to move along faster lol there is only one other factor to this story that hold's as much importance as these scenes with Nina, so it's really important that I get these first bricks laid correctly or else the whole thing will collapse in on it's self.

And please remember, that while this is a character insert, the main focus of the insert is Dmitri and Ed, so there will be a lot of alterations being made to the story to accommodate this new character. This isn't a "can't mess up the timeline, or Ed and Al wont get their happy ending" type story, it's a "let's shake things up a bit" kind of story lol


	8. Mama

Thanks much for the encouragement! I really am worried that someone might get upset about the plot changes I have (and am going to) had to make. Some people take this stuff waaaaay to seriously lol.

Soooooo, is this the chapter where we find out a little bit more about our beloved OC? Read and find out!

* * *

_... "How long as she been this way?" Ed glanced between the doctor and his patient._

_"A week, give or take a couple days; she wen't from being perfectly healthy to this in the blink of an eye." Ed said rubbing the back of his neck. Everyone stood in the living room around a large, puffy red couch. Dmitri lay upon it shivering heavily despite the six blankets that covered her from nearly head to toe. The doctor pulled the blankets back, examining her arm's and legs before checking her pulse and temperature._

_"We thought she was just over working herself." Al spoke up from his spot behind the couch. "Demi takes on a lot of the house hold chores around here, and she almost always refuses help..."_

_The doctor frown's and hum's in speculation as he eyes the thermometer. "Her temperature is much to low... she's hardly registering at 95 degrees." The doctor reaches into his bag and pull's out what look's to be a hot water bottle, placing it on Dmitri's torso before covering her back up and tucking i the blanket around her. "Her blood pressure is dangerously low as well, only 89/54." He turned to Mustang and fixed him with a hard look. "Why was a doctor not contacted sooner? This child is in a dangerous physical state!"_

_Mustang sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I only just learned that she was ill; had I known sooner, she would have been admitted to the hospital right away." The doctor huffed and made a few marks in a note book, documenting the vial's he had just taken. "So, what's your diagnosis?"_

_The doctor sighed, checking over his shoulder at the entry into the living room. "What I am about to tell you may be hard to understand; seeing as how Mr. Tucker has yet to return, I will leave it to you to tell him." Ed frowned a little in response. "It is my belief that this girl is suffering from a sever case of Anemia; her blood levels are severely depleted. This explains the fainting spells, the fevers, the fatigue and the hypothermia. It would also explain why her blood pressure is so low; her heart can't pump something that isn't there."_

_"W-what? But, how's that possible?! She hasn't gotten hurt." Al said incredulously. The doctor pull's the blankets back enough to pull Dmitri's arm out form under the blanket, showing it to Mustang and the others._

_"Do you see the marks?" Ed leaned down and brushed his fingers over a series of red pock marks the ran up and down the inside of Dmitri's arm. They varied in size and shape, and one of them even looked like it had been torn open at one point. "Needle pricks. You said that Mr. Tucker has been giving her medication via needle's to help fight off the fevers?"_

_"Yes sir." Al said with uncertainty._

_"Some of these pricks are to large for a mere medicinal needle prick," the doctor said as he pointed to a few of the larger blemishes. "I'm not going to place any blame on anyone in the house hold... but someone has been taking this girls blood. So much of it infact, that it has lead to her current situation-_

"Fullmetal!" Ed jumped, pulled out of his flash back by the irritable Colonel Mustang. He sat in Mustang's office, occupying a chair directly in front of Mustang's desk. Mustang was staring at him impatiently over his folded hands. "Would you mind answering the question?"

"...What?" Mustang sighed, slumping back into his chair. Ed chuckled sheepishly.

"I don't get paid enough to deal with these brats..." Mustang mutters under his breath. "How much longer will you need to finish up your research with Tucker? I have to start giving you missions again soon, or else the higher ups are going to start knocking on our door." Ed shrugged, leaning back into his chair casually.

"Beats me; it shouldn't be to much longer. But if it's any trouble, I'd like for you to hold off for a little while longer on the missions..." Mustang quirked a brow at Ed in shock.

"You're asking me to _with hold_ possible leads from you? That's not like you at all Ed..."

Al, who was sitting in the chair beside Ed's, spoke up then. "Well, you see sir, we don't want to move around to much at the moment. With Demi still being sick and all..." Mustang's eyes pinned the two boy's with a knowing stare, one which Ed ignored.

"I see; I'll see what I can do. How is Lead anyways? I know it's only been two days but..."

Ed frowned and scoffed irritably. "She's feeling a lot better already; it's becoming nearly impossible to keep her in bed." Ed sighed dramatically, resting his chin on his fist. "It's almost easier to take care of Nina then it is to try and keep Dmitri out of trouble." Mustang chuckled at Ed's expense.

"Sound's like she should be back to her old self in no time." Al nodded. Mustang suddenly became serious again, his mouth pulling into a frown. "Has anything popped up concerning the doctor's diagnosis?" Ed shook his head.

"Al and I have been taking turns watching her, but nothing unusual has happened to suggest any foul play. So unless this person is invisible, the doctor's theory must be flawed. Something else had to have been the cause of her anemia." Ed said while placing his arms behind his head, a disgruntled look upon his face. "It just doesn't make sense to me; a person's blood doesn't just vanish out of thin air."

Mustang hummed in agreement before reaching into the top drawer of his desk and removing a small calendar, flipping back to a few months prior. "Hmm, I thought this seemed strange..."

"Did you find something Colonel?" Al asked curiously. Mustang nodded, placing the calendar on the top of his desk.

"This is a calendar I keep, keeping track of phone call's made to and from my office. It also states the reason for the call." Ed and Al stood from their seats to look at the calender page, their eyes skimming it over. There where many names written over the page, most of them being Maes Hughs, but mingled between the others was Lead. Mustang pointed to a day near the beginning of the month. "This phone call from Lead was her telling me she would be out of active duty for a while; she said something about Nina being ill." Ed quirked a brow at him.

"And? Kid's get sick all the time."

"Yeah Colonel; what does Nina getting sick have to do with what's going on right now?" Mustang moved his finger to another date near the middle of the month.

"This is the day I called Lead with orders to meet the two of you in Youswell. It took a lot of convincing, as Nina's condition had only worsened. It wasn't until I agreed to have Nina admitted to the hospital that she took the mission." Ed rubbed his chin in thought. Nina had been admitted to the hospital right before Dmitri had left for Youswell? Dmitri never said anything about it; probably because Nina seemed perfectly healthy now.

"I'm still not following..."

"Nina's condition was very similar to how Dmitri is now; fever, fatigue. She could hardly hold her own head up." Mustang sat back in his chair. "Tucker didn't seem to happy about Nina being admitted either; he said he didn't want her to be under any stress, and that the strange environment might be to much for her. However, just a couple of days after being admitted Nina's condition began to improve; she was able to leave with Tucker after only five days of care."

Ed and Al mauled over the information; Nina had been sick only a few months ago and now all of a sudden Dmitri seemed to be suffering from the same ailment. But had Nina really been suffering from anemia? That was harder to believe then Dmitri having anemia; at least Dmitri was part of the military. Fighting was part of the job. But a four year old girl having anemia was to far-fetched.

"Brother, do you think it's a coincidence?" Al asked pulling Ed from his thoughts.

"I don't know Al."

* * *

Ed and Al walk up the front steps of Tuckers house, both lost in thought. A low rumble of thunder made Ed glance up at the darkening sky. "... Look's like rain today Al; we'll have to make sure Alexander doesn't get out."

"Yeah; maybe we should make some hot coco for Nina. That always cheered us up on rainy days." Ed nodded as they entered the house. They stopped in the entry way, the door falling closed behind them as the first drops of rain began to pelt the ground. "Hello! Nina? Mr. Tucker? We're back!" Al called. Ed braced himself to be tackled by Alexander and Nina. Nothing happened.

"Hmm. Must be taking a nap..." Ed said out loud making Al nod his head in agreement. Ed sighed, rubbing his right shoulder roughly as he headed for the stairs. "Or their playing hide and seek with Dmitri. For her sake it better be the first option." He said irritably.

Al followed Ed up the stairs, glancing down the hall expecting to see Dmitri peeking into one of the rooms as she looked for Nina. But the hall was empty, though all the door's where thrown open. Ed quirked a brow in confusion before heading down the hall, checking into all the room's.

"What the hell... why are all these door's open?" He mumbled to himself as he shut each one. Al did the same on the other side of the hall. When he came to Dmitri's door he peeked inside; the bed was empty and made.

"Brother, Demi's not in bed..." Ed sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Something felt off here; where was everyone? Even if they where playing a game, he should have heard something by now...

"Let's go ask Tucker; he's probably in his lab..." Ed said. Al nodded in agreement, closing the door gently.

It didn't take the boys long to find Tucker's lab; it was the only other room in the house that had double doors aside from the front entry way. The left door was hanging slightly open, allowing Ed to see Tucker kneeling down on the ground through the crack.

"About time we found someone; Nina and Dmitri must be playing one hell of a game." Ed said casually as he opened the lab door. Tucker looked up in surprise before an easy grin came to his face.

"It's you guys; I thought I heard someone moving around in the house." Tucker motioned them forward. "Come on in; take a look at the finished product." Ed and Al gasped as they entered the room, their eyes falling on the reason for Tuckers kneeling form.

Sitting on the ground was a large, strange looking creature. It's body and paws where an off white while a long curtain of reddish brown hair fell over it's dog like face and all the way down its back, ending as a flowing tail. It's paws where huge and looked a little to long for it's stocky body. The eyes where a little intimidating, big and light in color giving it a ghostly appearance.

"This is a chimera that can learn language." Tucker said proudly, his hand resting easily on the creatures head. "I was just about to give a presentation to Dmitri over there." Ed and Al looked over and where surprised to see Dmitri sitting on her knee's on the other side of the room. She was still dressed in her bed cloths, a large over sized sweater and shorts, and her hair was still a mess as if she had just woken up. Her arms hung limply at her sides and her head was tilted down, shadowing her eyes from their view. "Watch this boys."

Tucker knelt down in front of the chimera again, pointing to Ed with a triumphant smile. "Ready?" He said to the chimera. "This person is Edward." The creature turned it's head to look at Ed, it's eyes seeming to see him for the first time since Al and him had entered the room.

"Ed-ward?" The voice the came from it sent a shiver down Ed and Al's backs; it sounded like a mesh of voices, and was eerily devoid of emotion. "Edward..."

Ed came forward, kneeling down to get a closer look at the chimera as it continued to repeat his name, much like a young child who had just learned a new word.

"I saved my neck; I don't have to worry about my research funding again for the time being." Tucker said with relief. Ed hardly heard him, the wheel's in his brain coming to a screeching halt as the chimera looked over it's shoulder at Dmitri who had yet to move.

"M-Mama..." Dmitri visibly flinched, her hands clenching into fists at her side before she slowly crawled over to the chimera's side allowing it to rest its head against her chest.

"It's ok..." Dmitri said, wrapping her arms around the Chimera's head. "Princess..." Ed's eyes widened, his mouth going dry as Dmitri glanced up at him with sorrowful eyes. "Ed..." She whispered out. "Help her... please..." Ed's whole body shook as he placed an tentative left hand on the chimera's head. "Please Ed..." Ed sigh's, steeling his nerves.

"Mr. Tucker. When did you say you got your approval for your research?" Ed asked over his shoulder. Tucker put his hand to his chin in mock thought.

"Hmmmm... that was two years ago, I believe."

"And your wife; when did she leave?"

A tense pause followed the question, Tucker's eyes narrowing in mild contempt as he stared at the back of Ed's head. Al shifted his weight between his feet, sensing the shift in the rooms atmosphere.

"Two years ago." Ed's shoulders slumped a little, his hand moving from the chimera to the top of Dmitri's head as he stood up.

"Just... one more question, ok." Ed said glancing slightly over his shoulder at Tucker who's shoulders had gone incredibly stiff. "_Where are Nina and Alexander?_" Al let out a startled gasp as Tucker removed his glasses, cleaning them on the hem of his sweater casually before replacing them on his face.

"So, Dmitri couldn't keep our secret..." He said before pinning Ed with a blank stare. "I hate kids with good instincts like you." Ed moved faster then Al could track, grabbing Tucker by the front of his shirt and slamming him into the wall.

"BROTHER! Wha-"

"YOU BASTARD!" Tucker shook like a leaf, as he tried in vein to pull Ed's hand off him. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! Used your own wife two years ago?! And _this _time you used your own _daughter and dog to transmute a chimera!"_

Al sucked in a harsh breath, his eyes darting to the chimera who was watching the altercation between Tucker and Ed through Dmitri's arms. "That's... Nina? A-and Alexander too..."

"You worthless-!"

"Why are you so mad? I-I told you I was using younger test subjects..." Tucker said mechanically. " My wife, she was to old. To set in her ways; I thought, a teenager perhaps-" Ed grit his teeth, his shoulders beginning to shake as he tried hard not to pulverize the man before him. Al gasped, turning to Tucker in denial.

"Y-your lying! You mean you tried to use-"

Tucker chuckled darkly, disgust clear in his voice. "Dmitri was to old too, and even if she wasn't, she was to damaged... the iron in her body was incompatible with the transmutation." He looked over at Dmitri who had taken to hiding her face in the top of Nina's head. "I was so disappointed; I had hopped to turn both of them-!?" Ed pulled Tucker away from the wall before slamming him against it again.

"_Don't fucking look at them!_" He growled out. "So you admit it! You admit to using your youngest and attempting to turn a girl who looked up to you like a father?! You can only do so much with animal experimentation. It should be a piece of cake if you use humans! Right?!"

Tucker gave Ed a sinister smile. "Haven't the advances of mankind come from the results of countless experiments on human beings? Medical science for example. As a scientist, you-"

"_SHUT UP!" _Ed hissed, slamming Tucker into the wall again. "You think you're going to be forgiven for this?! For... _toying_ with human lives?! You nearly killed Dmitri and you turned Nina and Alexander into that... _thing_!" Tucker started to laugh hysterically.

"Human lives?! _HA HA! Yeah, _human lives!" Tucker reached up and grabbed the front of Ed's coat, pulling him a little closer to they where face to face. "YOU FOOL! Take a look at your limbs and your little brother, Fullmetal Alchemist!" Ed snapped, slamming his right fist against Tucker's cheek. "_Aren't those the results of your so-called "Toying with human lives?" We're the same, you and I!"_

"**You're wrong**!" Ed shouted at him.

"NO, I'm not! You saw a possibility in front of you and you just had to try it!" tucker said, earning another punch from Ed.

"_**YOU'RE** **WRONG!**_ " Tucker continued to laugh despite the punches Ed continued to throw at him.

"HAHAHA! And even if you knew it was _banned_, you couldn't stop yourself from trying-"

"_Shut up! You're wrong!_" Another punch, this one distinctly harder then the others. "We alchemists..." Ed stopped suddenly, his grip on Tuckers shirt tightening. "_Stuff like this...!_" Ed made a move to hit Tucker again, only to be stopped by Al's larger and stronger hand.

"Brother... if you hit him anymore then that, he'll die..." Al said as Ed shakily released Tucker, allowing the now bloody man to fall limply down the wall. Al pulled Ed away and over to where Dmitri and Nina where still sitting, Nina shaking like a leaf with small tears in the corners of her beastly eyes as she watched the carnage through Dmitri's protective embrace.

Tucker started to chuckle again, wiping his own blood off his chin. "It's not possible to get things done with out dirtying your hands..." Al's shoulders stiffened up, his emotionless eyes gaining a sharp edge as he looked at the disturbed man over his shoulder.

"Mr. Tucker. If you keep talking, this time _I'll _shut you up." Despite Al's young voice, the threat was real enough to make Tucker pull into himself, unwilling to push the larger older brother over the edge. Al knelt down then, taking Nina and Alexanders morphed face into his hands. "Nina..." Dmitri leaned heavily against Al's cold side, her right arm moving behind him to wrap around Ed's right leg. "I'm sorry. We can't restore you with what we know right now..."_  
_

"Mama...?" Nina said, moving her head to she could push her nose into Dmitri's chest. "Mama... hurts... Mama hurt..." Dmitri stiffened up a little before reaching up and running her fingers through Nina's long hair. Nina pushed herself into Dmitri's lap, leaning heavily against her with her head resting on Dmitri's shoulder. "Mama..." Dmitri crushes Nina to her with her left arm, her hold on Ed's leg becoming to tight he was sure to bruise.

"I'm sorry princess..." She whispered to Nina. Al placed a hand on Ninas head while Ed rested his right hand on Dmitri's. "I'm so _sorry_..."

* * *

AHHHH! I'm sorry, but after writing that I couldn't do anymore- this part always makes me sooooo sad! *cries* Why do I do this to myself?!

Please let me know how you liked it!


	9. Past Truth's

Chapter 9- aaaaaaaaaaaand GO!

* * *

_"Mother!" 9 year old Ed ran through the yard towards the vegetable garden that grew in the back yard of his childhood home. His mother, a beautiful woman with long brown hair pulled to a lose side ponytail and big delightful blue/grey eyes, was kneeling in the garden, picking a basket of fresh vegetables for dinner that night. "Mother!"_

_She stand then, the edge of long pink dress dancing in the gentle breeze. "What's the matter Ed?" Ed giggled and held his hands up, showing the gift he had made for her. An iron pony sat in his palms, the edges perfect and smooth._

_"Here's a present!" His mother leaned down, looking at the creation with kind eyes._

_"Oh, for me? What is it?" She asked curiously. Ed beamed proudly as she took the toy gently in her hand._

_"I transmuted it!" He said proudly. His mothers eyes widened in surprise, a gentle smile falling onto her lips._

_"You did? That's daddy little boy! Thank you," his mother ruffled his hair affectionately earning a giggle from little Ed."You're really wonderful, Ed. To be able to make such a perfect object..." His mother removed her hand from his head slowly. "But... you couldn't make me right..."_

_Ed's eyes widened in fear as the garden melted away, leaving nothing but a black void and his mothers bloody body laying before him. Her head moved, making her lifeless eyes stare blankly at him. "W-why... didn't you make mommy right...?!" A horrible scream erupted from her throat making Ed cry out. He turned on his heel's and started to run. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to get away. His path was suddenly blocked by a stone wall making his heart stop. He was trapped._

_"Ed!" Ed turned around at the sound of Al's voice. "Ed! Help me brother!" Al's voice echoed through the blackness._

_"Al?!" Ed looked around frantically. "Al, where are you?!" A door suddenly appeared to his left. Ed made a mad dash for it, desperate to escape the dark shadows that where steadily growing to consume him. Ed wrenched the door open only to stop in his tracks, the little color that was in his face draining away._

_In the center of the room, inside a large transmutation circle, stood Alexander and Nina. Nina was crying hysterically, calling for her mama. Behind her, being held back by what seemed to be an invisible wall, screaming Nina's name._

_"NOOO! NINA! LEAVE HER ALONE, PLEASE!" As if suddenly seeing him Dmitri started screaming at him. "ED! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T LET HIM DO THIS!_ **_PLEASE_**_ !" A bright light suddenly enveloped the room, accompanied by Nina and Dmitri's horrified screams._

_"NO! Nina!" Ed shouted as the light overpowered him. When it finally faded Ed fell to his knee's, clutching at his head harshly. In the center of the room lay the Nina and Alexander chimera covered in it's own blood. Kneeling beside the dead creature her shoulders shaking with each sob she let out. "Nina..."_

_Dmitri turned to him then, her face contorted in distress and rage. "Why Ed? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE HER!" Ed backed up, falling to the ground and scrambling to get away from the horrific sight. "My princess... SHE'S GONE AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Dmitri transmutes a hand gun, aiming it at his head. "I'LL KILL YOU!" She hesitates for a second, tears streaming down her face and her hands shaking horribly. "You... monster..." She turns the gun then, aiming it at her own temple._

_"No, Dmitri don-!" A loud bang echoed through the air as Dmitri pulled the trigger, the left side of her head blowing out seconds before she fall's the ground, her blood and brain matter mingling with the blood of Nina and Alexander. "N-no..." Ed reaches out towards the two bodies, his own body shaking uncontrollably. "N-no no no NONONONONONNOOOOOOOOOO-_

"-_OOOOOOOOOOOOO!_" Ed bolted up in bed, a loud crack of lightning and thunder accompanying his scream of anguish. He clutched the bed sheets beneath him, his breathing ragged and shallow. His whole body shook, and a cold sweat covered him from head to toe.

Ed's eyes darted around the room, the echoes of the gun shot still going through his head, accompanied by his mother and little brothers screams. Ed's eyes fell on the bed across the room from his. A small indent is all that remained to show that at one time the bed had been occupied.

Shortly after discovering Nina and Alexanders conditions, Al had phoned Mustang and told him what was going on. They where escorted from the scene and taken to the Military dorms. Al insisted for the three of them to be kept in the same room together, to which the commanding officer reluctantly agreed after speaking with Mustang over the phone. It seemed though that Dmitri had disappeared in the middle if the night, making Ed's anxiety shot up a little higher.

After a nightmare like that he would have preferred to have found her dead in her bed rather then missing. It would have kept his brain from jumping to the worst case...

Ed sigh's and hugs his automail leg to his chest, placing his temple against the side of his cold knee. "... It hurts..." The sound of the door opening a moment later made him jump a little in surprise.

"...brother?" Ed let out a relieved sigh, glad that it was only Al who was peeking into the room. Ed didn't move from his position, allowing his heart rate to come back down to normal before he shifted on the bed, throwing his legs over the edge and leaning his elbows on his thighs. "Are you ok? I heard you shout..." Ed stared down at his right hand, watching the flashes of lightning dance across it's metallic palm..._beautiful..._ his eyes flickered to the empty bed across from him.

"I'm fine."..._nonsense..._

* * *

The next hour found Ed standing outside Colonel Mustangs office doors, an uneasy frown pulling at his lips. Al stood beside him, his fingers fidgeting to show his own nerves. Ed wasn't sure why he was there; did he even want to see the Colonel right now? Did he have it in him to ask about... With out another thought Ed spun on his heel, intent to escape from his commanding officer for the time being. He wasn't ready for this-

"Edward?" He paused mid step, glancing over his shoulder to see Lieutenant Hawkeye coming out of the Colonel's office. She glanced between Ed's solemn face and Al's nervous fidgeting, a gentle look taking over her face. "What's wrong? You're up early this morning."

Ed turned slightly towards her, rubbing the right side of his neck anxiously. "I- I was wondering... what's going to happen to Tucker and... Nina?" Ed forced himself to say, fighting to keep his voice and body steady. He bit his lip when a sigh escaped Hawkeye's lips. She frowned, closing the office door and locking it before turning back to them.

"In addition to having his license revoked, it was planned for Mr. Tucker to be put to trial at central, however..." Her eyes closed then, as if stealing herself for the information she was about to reveal. "The two of them died." Ed felt all the blood drain from his face. "Officially they were "killed." I'm telling you this because even if I had lied, you would probably figure out what had happened eventually." Al gasped, his hands clenching into fists as Hawkeye turned to leave then, her face suddenly pulled into a blank look.

"W-what?! But- by _who_?!" Ed demanded as Al and him took off after Hawkeye. With out looking at them she slipped on a black rain coat.

"I don't know. I'm heading off to the crime scene now." Ed reached out as if to grab her sleeve,

"Take me too!"

"No."

"Why the hell not?!" Hawkeye stopped suddenly making Ed and Al nearly run into her back. She turned, giving Ed a very serious stare that made him grimace.

"It's better if you didn't see." She said making him and Al take in a sharp breath. "If anything, you should go find Lead." She reached into her inner uniform pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "If what the Colonel told me is true, she's going to need your help more then we will. Let us handle this case Edward." She handed the paper to Ed who took it with a confused face.

"What? What did he tell you?"

"I think it's best that Lead be the one to tell you." Hawkeye turned away then, leaving before either of the boy's could ask anymore questions. Ed stared down at the small slip of folded paper, confusion sinking in to replace the heavy sadness that had settled there over the last few weeks.

"What is it brother?" Al asked. Ed shrugged and unfolded the paper, quirking a brow at the list of turns and hall numbers...

"Instructions through the dorms? What the hell..." Ed scratched the back of his head in thought.

"Maybe it's like a treasure hunt? I bet if we follow these instructions we'll be able to find Dmitri." Al rubbed the back of his arm. "I saw her leave really late last night, but she never came back; I'm worried brother. What if she had another fainting spell?" Ed sighed, reading the first of the instructions. 'Go left from the Colonel's office for fifty yards, then turn right'.

"Damn woman... I'm not in the mood to play games today..." He said as he motioned for Al to follow him. "Let's hurry up and get this over with."

* * *

Al and Ed stared up at the sign hanging above their final destination. A heavy blush showed on both their faces despite Al not having flesh cheeks. "Uhhh... brother? Why are you waiting? G-go get her..." Ed grabbed Al by the shoulders shaking him a little.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! I can't go in there!" Ed shouted dramatically. "I'll dye for sure!"

"Well I can't either! What if I get wet?!" Al exclaimed back. Ed groaned, leaning his head against the wall next to the large double door's leading into the women's community showers.

"Maybe she'll come out on her own...?" Ed said desperately.

"Brother..." Al said in exasperation. "If this is where she's been this whole time, what makes you think she'll come out _now_?"

"Maybe she heard us? Come Al, please don't make me go in there!" Ed practically begged. Al made an unsure sound.

"I don't know brother... the Lieutenant seemed worried about Demi." Al said making Ed bite his lip uncertainty. "The Colonel called Hawkeye about something concerning Demi too- what if something terrible happened and she didn't come back cause she didn't wan't to worry us with it?" Al's voice was starting to become shrill with worry. Ed heaved a sigh, rubbing his right shoulder absentmindedly.

"Alright, _fine; _I'll go check it out." Ed said with a nervous gulp as he eyed the door's wearily. He _really_ didn't wan't to do this... but Al had a point. "Well, make sure to retrieve my body for me, ok?"

"Brother..." Al sad in exasperation as Ed stepped into the locker room, his eyes snapping shut and his hand's flying over his face.

"I'MSORRYPLEASEDONTKILLMEITWASALLALSIDEAISWEAR-?" Ed stopped ranting after not having his head ripped off in the first ten seconds. "Uh, D-Dmitri? Y-you in here?" After not receiving an answer Ed pulled his hands away and reluctantly opened his eyes and peeked around. "Huh... hey Al! You can come in, I think it's empty!" Again, no answer. Ed quirked a brow, poking his head back out the door and looking away. "Al? WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE DID YOU GO?!" Al had taken the time that Ed was in the locker room to run off, leaving Ed to his doom. "Traitor..."

The sudden sound of running water made Ed's whole body go ridged. He turned his head to look at the one other door in the room; a small amount of steam rolled out through the open doorway. "Damn it... I thought it was empty in here?" Ed took a tentative step further into the room. "Then why didn't they answer me when I was calling out?" He heard a strange, light crinkling sounds under his foot making him take a step back to glance at where he had just stepped. His eyes widened at the undeniable red splotch that stained the floor. He knelt down, taking off his left glove and pressing his fingers into the blood blotch. It was partially dry... Looking up he saw that a trail of this red blood lead into the shower room its self, where the sound of running water was the only this permeating the air. Shouldn't he be hearing something else? Like the sounds of someone washing up?

Sudden dread filled him as he remembered what Al had said outside in the hall; Mustang had contacting Hawkeye concerning something that had happened to- "Damn it!" Forgoing his own embarrassment Ed stormed over to the shower room, poking his head in and glanced around. His eyes locked on a loan figure sitting against the back wall, their head hanging forward and a curtain of soaking wet hair covering their face from view. Good thing Ed didn't need to see their face to know who it was. "Dmitri!"

Ed rushed over to her, grabbing hold of her bare shoulders and shaking her gently, fearful that she was unconscious. Dmitri raised her head just enough to see who was holding onto her shoulders, her indigo eyes void of emotion. "...Edward... this is the girls room..." Ed growled, taking off his red coat and wrapping it around her shoulders; she was cold as ice, her lips holding a bit of a blue tint to them. How long had she been in there? "...I'm naked..."

"Yeah, I noticed! You're also about to turn into a popsicle! What where you thinking?!" Ed scolded her as he looked around the shower room; she had to have cloths around here somewhere- Ed spied a pile of clothing just three feet away from him. Determining that they had to be her's, Ed reaches for Dmitri's cloths only to pull back when a dark red trail come rippling off of them. "W-what the hell..." Dmitri grabbed his arm, pulling him back over towards her and away from the soiled clothing.

"Don't..." Ed gave her an incredulous look.

"What do you mean 'don't'?! What happened? Hawkeye wouldn't tell me, but I know it has to be something big if Mustang called her about it in the first place." Dmitri's face kept it's emotionless mask much to Ed's concern; why was she so... dead? Dead... Nina was dead now. And Dmitri _didn't know_... should he tell her? She already looked close to shattering, he wasn't sure she could handle hearing about Nina's murder..._  
_

"... I lost another one." Dmitri said, her hold on his wrist falling limp as she collapsed back against the wall, her eyes training on the red fabric of his coat as she fiddled with it in her now covered lap. Ed quirked a brow, his mouth opening to ask her what she was going on about only to pause; what about her creed? Don't ask, don't tell. Was it any of his business what she had lost? What ever it was, it must have been important for it to cause her to do something this stupid. You know what, fuck it! She's freezing herself to death and her cloths, of which she isn't even _wearing_, are covered in blood!

"What are you talking about? You disappear in the middle of the night and when I do find you, your freezing yourself, naked _and_ your cloths are covered in _blood_." Ed grabbed her shoulders again, making her look up at him again. "What the hell _happened_ to you?"

"..." Ed let his head fall in exasperation. He hadn't expected a true answer but anything would have been better then this _blank_ staring. He released her shoulders, falling to the side so he was sitting on her right side, leaning against the wall. The shower head had yet to stop spraying, leaving them both soaked from head to toe; he was going to have to change again- "When I was 12 and new to the field, I was on a mission for Maes and Roy... doing some digging on an organization suspected of human trafficking." Ed turned his head to stare at Dmitri with wide eyes. "I got caught. Roy and Maes where able to locate me before I could be sold off but... the organization had already tried to break me. Buyers didn't want to buy slaves that would bite back." Ed frowned; he didn't have to ask to know what she was talking about. Human trafficking, despite what the government would have everyone believe, was still very active. Young, pretty girls are kidnapped and 'broken in' so they will be obedient sex slaves to the disgusting men that purchase them. A huge ball of anger and biol rose in the back of his throat; to think that Dmitri had been used in such a way. It made him actually _want_ to _kill_ something.

"A month after I was brought back, I turned 13... two months later I found out I-" she paused, her brow furrowing a little in distress, her arms wrapping around her middle subconsciously. "It was hard, Ed... I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I could love it, knowing that it had been created in such a horrible way." She unwrapped her arms, pulling the side of his coat open to finger a scar he had never seen before. It was cleaner then the scar on her hip, but non-the-less concerning. It ran from the her navel all the way down past the edge of her undergarments. "The labor was intensive," Ed's eyes widened in complete shock. "Chemically, my body had been basically ready for childbearing for almost two years... physically, it wasn't even close to ready. The Doctor in charge decided to break my hip in an attempt to make more room for the baby to pass through. But it didn't work; they had to go in after him." Dmitri leaned her head back against the wall, a bitter sweet smile falling onto her lips. "He was so beautiful... They didn't think I could love him like a mother should because of my age. But they where wrong; I should have hated him, for what he represented... but I had never been so happy in all my life." She reached down grabbing Ed's left hand, holding it palm up and traced the lines on his palm and fingers. "I did the count; ten toes, ten fingers... he was screaming like a banshee but I didn't care; it was a good sign that despite my age, he was healthy."

"...Where is he?" Ed asked tentatively. Dmitri's shoulders tensed up, her fingers going still over his hand.

"... the nurses took him away. They said he was going to be checked over, just to be sure all his vitals where in working order..." She paused then, her fingers wrapping around his from either side. "The doctor came in some minutes later; I had yet to be fully sewed up from the emergency operation... he had died." Ed took in a sharp breath; he didn't know why he had asked. Clearly the child wasn't around anymore, he would have seen him by now, but... a part of him had hoped that the baby was ok... "A few minutes into his check up his heart stopped; that's what they told me. They said it was because he was inside me for to long after my water broke; he was crushed. I didn't even have time to name him..." Ed's shoulders slumped a little, his eyes moving from Dmitri's distressed face to the stone floor. It was... horrible. Never in a million years would he have ever guessed that someone could go through something like that, let alone a little girl. It didn't seem right; where was the equivalency? That's how the world worked, right...? "I was forced off the field for almost a year. During that time I was subject to ridicule and shame from people who didn't know the whole story. All they knew, was that I was a 13 year old who had gotten pregnant. It took a lot of begging, but Roy eventually agreed to let me go back to work. I barely came back after that, only stopping in to let Roy and Meas know I was alive... it was on my 15th birthday that I met Shou and Nina... it was love at first sight."

Ed blanched a little, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "O-oh yeah... but... wasn't he a little old for you?..." Dmitri snorted, a few weak laughs escaping from her lips as she elbowed Ed's side making him wince.

"No goober- I'm talking about Nina." Ed smiled a little, proud that he was able to make her smile despite the heavy conversation. "She... Nina was around the same age my boy would have been if he had lived, and she was just so cute, I fell for her instantly!" Dmitri smiled warmly, leaning against Ed's shoulder while keeping hold of his hand. "I remember the first thing she said to me, 'can I call you big sister?'. I mean, her babble is cute now, can you imagine how cute she was when she was _just _learning to talk?" Ed nodded, the small smile on his face falling into a frown.

"Dmitri..." She hummed in answer, still unwilling to relinquish her hold on his arm. The water in the shower was starting to cool again, making her shiver a little. "I have to tell you something... about Nina." Dmitri sighed, tiling her head back and letting the chilled water run over her face.

"She's dead." Ed's eyes widened in shock.

"H-how did you know? Who told you?" Dmitri's head fell as she brought her right hand up to her face, inspecting her own fingers and palm blankly.

"...Who's blood do you this is..." Ed jumped away from her as if burned, coming to his knee's with his hands laying flat against the floor. He gave Dmitri a horrified glare.

"What?" He hissed out. "You didn't do it- tell me you-" Dmitri shook her head, seemingly unmoved by Ed's sudden movement or his overflowing hatred.

"... I _found_ them. I woke up last night, intent to find Shou." Dmitri holds her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking a little heavier from what Ed assumed was the cold. "I wanted to ask him _why_... why did he do this? Why didn't he just tell me he was going to lose his certification?!" Her voice was angry now though she refused to show Ed her face. "What, did he think I wasn't _paid_ for the jobs that I took on?! If he had told me, I could have taken over the household finances, funded his research for him... Nina wouldn't of had to suffer..." Dmitri dug her fingers into her scalp, drawing a tiny amount of blood. "But when I found them... it was to late." Ed sank back onto his knee's, his head falling to hang limply from his shoulders. "They were destroyed! Torn apart from the inside- Nina... she had tear stains on her face! She must have been so scared... just like the night of the transmutation... and all the nights _I _was gone on a job... and she had nobody to comfort her..." Ed lifted his head a little, crawling back over to Dmitri's side and sitting silently beside her. He didn't know what to say; he didn't have anything to say. He wasn't good at comforting himself, let alone others. He didn't understand the pain that she felt; sure, he had lost his mother. And it had devastated both him and his little brother. His mother had been to young; only in her late twenties. But something about the death of a child... Granny Pinako always said she didn't know what their mother would have done should either Al or Ed himself had died. "... she called me mama... even a-after I l-let that m-monster do t-that t-t-to her!"

Ed glanced over at her, raising his arm as if to- what? What could he do? Dmitri answered that for him by falling over to the side so that she was laying across his lap and turning so that she was curled into his stomach, her arms wrapped around his middle. Ed froze for a moment before lowering his hand to rest in the curve of her side, his right hand coming up to lay atop her head.

"I-i-i'm s-s-sorry... p-p-princ-cess, I'm s-s-sorry..." Ed grit his teeth, allowing his head to fall back against the wall. The cold water falling from the shower head above him felt... nothing. He couldn't feel it; that fact should have worried him a little, right? He couldn't... Ed shifted a little, pulling Dmitri further up his torso and wrapping both his arms around her, taking the fleeting moment to bask in the physical contact he normally loathed. "Ed... W-what do we d-do?... I-i-i don't k-know what to do!" Ed tucks her head under his chin, holding it in place with his cold right hand.

"...This works for now..."

* * *

It didn't take Dmitri long to cry herself to sleep. Ed stayed there until the shower head turned it's self off, only slightly curious about as to why nobody had found them by now. Unwilling to dwell on it, Ed carried Dmitri and himself back to the dormitories, arriving in their room to a very anxious Al. With Al's help he was able to change Dmitri from his soaked coat into a dry shirt and a pair of shorts, tucking her into bed.

"Brother... are you going to tell me what happened?" Al asked as Ed pulled the blanket up to Dmitri's chin. She shivered, even in her sleep, a whimper escaping her lips as she snuggled deeper into the bedding. Ed pulled a stray wet hair from her cheek as he shook his head. Al sighed in disappointment.

"It's not my story to tell Al..." Ed said as he replaced his coat and gloves before turning towards the door. "Come one Al..." Al glanced between Ed and the still sleeping Dmitri with uncertainty before following his brother out into the hall way, being sure to close the door behind him. Ed heard his little brothers heavy foot fall's behind him and took solace in the familiarity of the sound. Despite the tragedy that lead to his brothers current state, it was strangely soothing to know that he was just behind him at all times... it seemed to be the only certain thing right now.

"Brother, where are we going?"

Ed didn't answer him; he didn't know where they where going. Anywhere; anywhere but there.

* * *

Dmitri sat up with a scream, her eyes wide and her breathing labored. Her eyes darted around the room frantically, her hands coming up to grasp at her hair, her face her arms and legs... she was ok. Everything was there... no. Something was off about this room. Dmitri looked around again, her brows furrowing in confusion. What was- her eyes landed on a suitcase set at the side of the other bed, it's brown surface rather familiar to her. She looked around, pulling the blankets off of her as she stood up from the bed. "Edward?" She called out. "Al? Where are you guys?" She didn't get a response. That bothered her.

With little thought she tore from the room, intent on finding the two brothers. They were all she had left now... As she rounded a corner she saw a group of men running towards the main door's. Dmitri fell into step beside one of the more familiar ones.

"What's going on?" She asked him. He glanced over at her with half hearted glare.

"And why should I tell you anything? What the hell is a civilian girl doing running around the dormitories in her pajamas?" Dmitri rolled her eyes and reached into her shirt, pulling her certification watch out and practically shoving it in his face. "Ah! M-Major!"

"That's right; now tell me what's going on or I'll report you to your commanding officer." Dmitri replaced her watch, feeling a little guilty about pulling the rank card; she wasn't supposed to technically exist in the State Alchemist program, so it was kind of a red flag when she showed her watch to her 'underlings' in order to make any headway... that and Mustang didn't really appreciate it.

"Uh, yes ma'ma!" He stopped his running to salute her much to her annoyance; hopefully nobody saw that.

"Please don't do that..." she grumbled making him falter a little and lower his arm. "As far as Colonel Mustang and his higher ups know I'm not here, and I'd like to keep it that way." He gave her a weary look; was it a lie? Kind of. Mustang knew she was here, but his commanding officers (who are few and in-between) had no idea and she wanted to keep it that way. "Now, your report?"

He jumped back to attention, this time being careful not to salute her. "Yes Ma'ma! We have received orders from Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes to take post in the vicinity of the Main Road! We are on a search and rescue mission ma'ma! Our target's; Edward and Alphonse Elric!" Dmitri's eyes widened minutely.

"Damn it!" She hissed out, nodding at the cadet. "Good work, thank you. Continue on your way." Dmitri turned as the solider bowed his head and rejoined his fellow men. Dmitri made her way to a nearby window, leaping from it to a near by tree outside. "Damn it Ed; what the hell could you have gotten mixed up in in the last _6 hours_?!"

Dmitri jumped from building to building, her eyes scanning the crowd bellow for a familiar red-there!" EDWARD!" She shouted trying to get his attention. "ALPHONSE!" The two boy's stood just as another soldier came running up to them. Dmitri scaled down the side of a building, landing in an alleyway some ten feet from where Ed, Al and the unknown soldier stood. Another man, this one far larger in stature then Dmitri could have ever believed existed outside her family, was making his way determinedly towards Ed and Al, his shoulders set straight and his hands sitting casually in his jacket pockets. "That scar..." The soldier suddenly moved to pull his gun. "DO-!" Dmitri tried to stop him only to fall short as the strange man lifted his right hand and slammed it into the soldiers face. A strange red alchemic wave came off said arm, entering the soldier who let out a strangled scream before his body seemed to detonate from the inside, blood splattering across the pavement."Holy shit..." Dmitri mumbled.

The murderous man dropped the soldier like a useless bag of trash, his eyes cutting back to Ed and Al who seemed to be frozen to the spot. Dmitri took off at a run; she wasn't sure what she was going to do but she knew she had to do something. This man was crazy, unstable- "EDWARD! ALPHONSE, RUN!" Dmitri reached into her shirt, pulling out a medium sized vial. With a clap of her hands she transmuted one of her guns, a huge double barreled shot gun. The man glanced over at her just as his right hand was about to make contact with Ed's head and dodged as she brought the barrel of her gun down towards the scared mans head. With little time for Dmitri to react the scared man grabbed the barrel of her gun with his right hand. The same alchemic energy came from it just before the barrel exploded. Dmitri released the gun and grabbed Ed and Al's arm's, pulling them out of the dust and towards an adjacent alleyway.

"D-Dmitri!? Where the hell did you come from?!" Ed asked as he was practically dragged down a maze of alley's and streets.

"No offence, but we have more important and deadly things to worry about right now! What the hell Ed, I leave you two alone for six hours and you two go and piss off some psycho alchemy freak?!" Al was quick to their defense as Dmitri allowed them to stop, clapping her hands together and placing them against the ground, sealing off the mouth of the alley with a wall identical to the that of the street. Ed gapped at her, his mouth flapping open and closed like a fish out of water.

"We don't know who that man is; he just attacked us out of nowhere!" Al said making Dmitri sigh.

"Well who ever he is, that wall should buy us a little time." Ed pointed between her and the wall, giving Al a stupefied look.

"What brother?" Al asked as Dmitri rummaged through her bra, attempting to find another gun. "Don't tell me you didn't know she could do that..."

"A-and you did?!" Dmitri cheered as she pulled out a particularly small vial.

"Ed, how else do you think I could transmute so fast?" She asked as she clapped her hands together over the vial. Blue alchemic energy came from between her palms, and moments later she was hold a large hand gun with strange gears and knobs covering it. "Now come on, this wall wont hold him back forever-?!" The wall behind her suddenly exploded sending her flying forward into Al's armor with a shout of surprise.

"Ah! Demi-"

Dmitri winced as she reached over her shoulder, shooting at the scared man. "Don't pause you idiots! RUN!" Ed and Al didn't hesitate, Al putting Dmitri over his shoulder so she could continue to fire at their attacker. "Damn it Al, we need to get you some shoulder pads!" Dmitri's eyes widened in shock as the man slammed his charge right hand against the side of one of the buildings making up the alleyway, sending a spiderweb of eerie red light across it's side. "Shit! Get dow-!" The entire building crumbled, falling debris coming with in inches of Dmitri and the boy's heads. The boy's had stopped running, their path obstructed by the mountain of brick, wood and mortar.

"What now Demi?" Al asked as he set her back down, all three of them turning to see the scared man stalking ever closer a look of pure determination in his eyes.

"I don't know; his alchemy is dangerous. He's not following the proper procedures..." Dmitri said, her gun held firmly in her hand at her side.

"What the hell are you?" Ed shouted at the scared man. "Why are you coming after us?" The man stopped in his tracks, a grim frown pulling at his mouth.

"...If there are creators, then there are also destroyers." The three teen's stared at him in confusion.

"I think this guy is mental..." Dmitri muttered as she reloaded her gun. "I don't think we have a choice boys." Ed sighed and clapped his hands together before grabbing hold of a pipe, forming it effortlessly into a long, curved blade. Al fell into an easy fighting stance, nodding his head with confidence. "Stay low, and don't let him touch you with that hand of his."

The scared man smiled a little. "You've got guts..."

"Let's go!" The three teen's shouted together. Ed and Al took the lead with Dmitri close behind them, transmuting the top of her gun into a sharp blade. As the descended onto the scared man, he dodged Ed and Al's attacks like they where nothing, seeming to toy with the boy's more then anything. Dmitri came from underneath the boy, her blade aimed at the unsuspecting man's throat. At the last second he dodged, his charged right hand coming for her face.

"Watch out!" Al shouted as he grabbed the back of Dmitri's shirt, pulling her away just enough for the dangerous hand to skim by her nose. However, Al wasn't so lucky. The scared man pressed against his side, destroying half of Al's armor in a single shot. Al let out a startled cry as he fell to the ground in a useless pile.

"AL!" Dmitri shouted before firing a single shot at the scared man who was quick to jump out of the way, putting some distance between himself and the teenagers.

"_**YOU SON OF A** **BITCH!**_" Ed didn't give the scared man enough time to attack again, swinging at him in a blind furry. Dmitri took the time to check on Al; what if the blood seal had...

"Al?! Are you ok? Answer me damn it!" Dmitri demanded as she took off his helmet, checking for his blood seal. It was easy enough to spot, being right underneath where his helmet would normally sit. A crack in his armor had come dangerously close to the soul binding seal making Dmitri's heart nearly stop.

"I-I'm fine- what about brother? Where is he?!" Dmitri looked up to see Ed still swinging at the scared man who seemed more the capable of dodging the poorly planned attacks.

"Al, don't you dare try to move!" Dmitri ordered him as she stood and started jogging towards the fighting pair. She was within ten feet of them when the scared man suddenly grabbed hold of Ed's right arm, the red alchemic energy flaring up. "Ed!" A bright flash of light engulfed the alleyway. Reaching out blindly, Dmitri grabbed the back of Ed's red coat, throwing him and herself away from the scared man who seemed perplexed as he watched Ed pick himself up with two arms.

"Damn it!" Ed hissed out as he removed his now destroyed red coat. Dmitri stood up with him the two of them turning to face off with the scared man again.

"You ok? He didn't damage your arm did he?" Dmitri asked Ed over her shoulder, refusing to take her eyes off the their opponent. Ed rotated his right shoulder.

"He's about to wish he had."

The scared man however wasn't paying them much mind. He stared down at his right palm, glancing between it, Al and Ed's arm. "Automail... I see. That's why it wasn't destroyed through human destruction. And the big one; I thought that I would destroy his body because I tore apart his armor... but he doesn't have a body. You're a strange bunch... haven't I wasted enough time on you though?" Ed and Dmitri sneered at him, both of them clapping their hands together. Ed transmuted his right arm into a curved blade while Dmitri transmuted her gun into two short blades.

"To bad for you psycho, but we're not nice enough to play by your schedule." Dmitri growled at him as her and Ed fell into fighting stances.

"Brother, Demi- don't... please, run away!" Al shouted from his spot on the ground. With out looking at him Dmitri scolded him over her shoulder.

"I told you not to move Al! Just sit back and let us finish the creep off; you don't honestly think we would just leave you here, do you?" Al made to protest.

"You idiot!" Ed shouted at him making Al go silent once again. "Like hell we're running away and leaving you behind! Just listen to Dmitri; we'll get this taken care of and then I'll fix your armor and we can all go back together, got it?!"

"Hmmm... indeed you are an odd bunch of kids..." The scared man said in a monotoned voice. "Your transmutations... by putting your hands together, you form a ring and use the cycled energy to perform alchemy." The scared man dropped into a fighting stance making Ed and Dmitri go stock still. With a battle cry from all three fighters, they rushed each other. With lightning fast movements the scared man quickly disarmed Dmitri, punching her into a pile of rubble.

"W-what?!" Al shouted. "H-he wasn't that fast before brother!"

Ed glanced over to see Dmitri pulling herself out of the rubble, a little worse for wear with a large cut on her forehead that was gushing blood. He turned back to the fight, lunging at the scared man with renewed anger. "**_BAAASTAAARD!_**"

"The first thing to do..." The scared man said roughly as he once against grabbed Ed's right arm. Ed paled in sudden panic while Al shouted for him to get away. "Is to have this annoying arm destroyed." Red alchemic energy flared up in the scared mans own arm before being released onto Ed's automail, tearing it into a million pieces all the way up to his shoulder port. The force of the explosion knocked Ed clean off his feet and onto the rain soaked ground.

"**_BROTHER!_**" Al screamed as Ed tried to lift himself back up with his left arm. At that moment the sky seemed to open up, dousing them all in it's cold embrace. Violent flashes of lightning danced across the sky, giving off enough light to see the reluctant look of defeat on Ed's face.

Dmitri fell out of the rubble pile with a heavy thud, her whole head spinning from the hit. Seeing the blood on the ground coming from her wound made her wince; she couldn't afford to lose any more blood right now, she was still sick... She looked up just as another flash of lightning illuminated the sky to see Ed kneeling on the ground, the pieces of his destroyed automail laying around him and the scared man standing above him in mute confidence.

"I will give you time to pray to god." The scared man said making Dmitri's blood run cold. She couldn't let this happen-

"Sorry, but there isn't a god I wan't to pray to." Ed said, his voice bitter in his defeat. "You're only after me, right? My little brother... and Dmitri... are you going to kill them too?"

"If there are obstacles, I remove them. But for now, the only one I have business with is the Fullmetal Alchemist..." The scared man said definitively. Dmitri moved a little, intent of grabbing something she could use to transmute a weapon. But upon moving she was struck with a dizzy spell, forcing her back to the ground. She wanted to punch something; she was so useless! Was this some kind of cruel trick?! Was she really expected to just lay here and watch his friend get murdered?

"Then promise me... that you won't touch either of them."

"Ed- shut up! _Run you idiot_!" Dmitri shouted, wincing at the strain it put on her already throbbing head.

"**_What are you saying?! Brother, what are you doing?!_**" Al screamed from the other side of the alley. As the scared man lowed his hand towards Ed's unguarded head Dmitri tried once more to grab hold of something, anything- her hands wrapped around an all to familiar blade handle, a small rush of relief flooding through her as she brought it into her hands, clapping them weakly and transmuting one of her short swords into a small hand gun. " **_RUN AWAY!_**" Dmitri aimed the gun at the scared man's head, her whole body shaking from the strain of the additional blood loss from her head wound.

"Ed... you idiot-" She hissed out as her finger started to tighten on the trigger; she hoped she hit her mark- the sound of a gunshot much louder then her little gun was capable of echoed through the air making Dmitri's heart nearly stop.

"That's as far as you go." She could have cried when the scared man's hand stopped just short of Ed's head, his fingers twitching in his restraint. Dmitri's head snapped over to the origin of the shot, a large grin spreading over her face as she allowed her arm to relax, the small gun falling from her hand.

"It's about damn time you found us Colonel!" She shouted at him as she found the strength to push herself back up. Mustang glanced at her, a small frown pulling at his lips before he returned his attention back to the scared man and Ed.

"That was a close call, Fullmetal, Lead." Mustang said. Ed sat up, holding onto the stump of his right arm port. "Lead, that man is the suspect for the serial murders of national Alchemists." Dmitri's eyes widened and moved back to the scared man.

"Meas mentioned him to me but I didn't..." She sighed, putting pressure on her bleeding head. "I didn't put the pieces together. If I had I wouldn't have wasted so much time... As you can see, there's no doubt that this man, Scar, _is_ who Meas has been looking for." Mustang nodded in agreement.

"There's also no doubt... that he is behind the murders of Shou and Nina Tucker." Ed, Al and Dmitri all gasped in shock. Scar scowled, his hands balling into fists at his side.

"Alchemists are those that twist the natural state of creation to a degenerate form," he said, eyeing them all with bitter hatred. "That is, in short, sacrilege to our creator, God." He brought his right fist up, inspecting a series of strange tattoo's that covered it in red ink. "As the messengers of God, we are those that carry out God's judgment."

"That's something I don't understand." Mustang said, his eyes challenging Scar with a glare. "There are many Alchemists, but why are you targeting only those that have national licenses?"

Scar pinned Mustang with a leveling stare. "No matter what, if you intend to interfere with this boy's judgment, I will eliminate you too." Mustang's eyes narrowed fractionally, his jaw tightening in annoyance.

"Is that so..." He ground out, tossing his gun over his shoulder and reaching into his pockets, pulling out his signature white gloves.

"Colonel Mustang!" Hawkeye shouted in warning after catching his gun mid air.

"Roy, don't do anything stupid!" Dmitri said in a panic. What an idiot! What could he possibly do right now?!

"Relax; I'll torch him before he gets with in a foot of Fullmetal." Mustang said as he adjusted his gloves.

"So..." Scar said gaining everyone's attention again. "Mustang... as in the national alchemist." Mustang leered at him, his eyes set with determination as he took his stance, poised to snap into action.

"Indeed! Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist!" Scar's shoulders relaxed, his knee's bending into a lose fighting stance.

"For one that turns against God to come in person to receive judgment..." Scar stepped forward, his right arm crackling with it's strange red alchemic energy. "Today is a good day!"

Roy took a step forward himself, a fire burning in his eyes. "You know that I am the Flame Alchemist and yet you dare to fight me!" Scar launched himself at Mustang, moving much faster then what should have been humanly possible. In a panic Dmitri clapped her hand's together and slammed them into the ground. Green alchemic energy traveled over the pavement to directly under Mustang where the ground disappeared, making Mustang falter and fall back just as he snapped his fingers with out producing a flame. Scar's glowing right hand skimmed above Mustang head, missing him by only a hundredth of a centimeter. Hawkeye was quick to move, aiming both her's and Mustang's gun's at Scar and opening fire. Scar was quick to dodge, jumping back from attack and landing just a few feet away from where Dmitri still sat.

"H-HEY! What's the big idea Lead?!" Mustang shouted as he pulled himself out of the hole. Hawkeye huffed while she reloaded the two guns.

"You idiot! Did you forget that it's raining?! You're worthless right now!" Dmitri yelled back at him, a small vein pulsing on the side of her head. Hawkeye glanced at the sulking Mustang over her shulder.

"She's right Colonel; that was rather reckless of you. Please stay back; we'll handle it from here."

Scar huffed in agitation. "In addition to you coming here, it's nice how you can't even use your flame. Your arrogance is infuriating," Scar said angrily. "State Alchemists, and those who are obstacles to my mission," he turned to face Dmitri making her eyes widen and her blood run cold. "I will annihilate everyone here!" Scar shifted to the ball's of his feet, deadly intent shinning in his eyes which where set on Dmitri's pron head.

"Shit..." Dmitri muttered.

"Dmitri!" Al shouted from his place on the ground. Scar hunched down, the muscles in her shoulders and neck tensing up for his launch. Ed watched as everything seemed to go in slow motion; Scar pushed off with his left leg, his right arm extending towards Dmitri's head. His mind rushed back to the horrible dream that had awoken him this morning, to the image of Dmitri's blood erupting from her head like a popped water balloon- a loud explosion forced him out of his flashback and back into the here and now. Scar was suddenly some twenty feet away from everyone, an annoyed scowl on his face. Dust and debris fell around the area where Dmitri had just been making Ed's heart stop.

"Dmitri!" He shouted; what had happened? This wasn't like when Scar had killed that solider earlier; there hadn't been an explosion like this. The dust began to clear thanks to the still heavily falling rain, revealing, not Dmitri, but a very large structured man with brood shoulders and massive arms and leg's. Iron knuckle shields covered his hands, one of which was still implanted in the side of the building while the other held Dmitri over his shoulder, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping. "What then..."

"To be able to not only corner a member of the Armstrong family, but to also be able to dodge my attack means that you are... quite good. Quite good indeed." The man said in an overly dramatic voice making everyone cringe. Dmitri, having recovered a little from her shock, face palmed herself as the anxiety literally melted from her shoulders. "Oh, you fiend who commits wrongs not only against my own Kin, but the nation it's self; you said that you would annihilate everyone here? How absurd! THEN FIRST, BEST ME IN COMBAT! I, the Strong-Arm Alchemist, ALEX LOUIS ARMSTRONG!" Scar gave them half a frown, his eyes narrowing as he looked between everyone.

"...They keep coming come after another today..." Scar said to no one in particular. "This way I can save time!" Armstrong chuckled a little, his hold on Dmitri growing tense.

"Second Lieutenant Havoc." He said over his shoulder. Havoc stepped forward only to be nearly knocked over when Dmitri went sailing into him. "Keep an eye on my dear, sweet little cousin! She is _not_ to be put in harms way again!" Dmitri and Havoc lay on the ground, both groaning as they tried to stop their heads from spinning.

"I-I think he just cause us both _more _ damage..." Havoc said.

"R-R-right? T-that idiot..." Dmitri said with a groan. Breda and Falman came over to offer their assistance, pulling Dmitri and Havoc up off the ground and wrapping a small blanket around Dmitri's shoulders. "H-hey! Shouldn't you guys stay back? What if Scar comes over here?" A large explosion kept the two second Lieutenants from answering. Dmitri looked over her shoulder in time to see large stone spikes erupting from the ground, attacking Scar who had to work to dodge them. "ALEX! DON'T MAKE SUCH A MESS!" Dmitri scolded her cousin.

"Yeah, don't destroy _too_ much of the city!" Havoc shouted at him as Breda and Falmen handed him and Dmitri a couple shot guns.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! BEHIND DESTRUCTION THERE LIES CREATION! BEHIND CREATION THERE LIES DESTRUCTION! DESTRUCTION AND CREATION ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN!" Dmitri and the others groaned in exasperation as Armstrong suddenly stripped himself of his upper jacket and shirt, revealing a ridiculously large chiseled body. "DESTROY AND CREATE! FOR THIS IS THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE!"

"... I can't believe I'm related to that..." Dmitri said with a dead panned look as Ed squatted down beside her.

"Is he sparkling, or is that just me?" Dmitri gave him a half hearted thumbs up, indicating that she too could see the strange sparkling lights that seemed to hover around her cousin's shoulders.

"_Why_ did he take his shirt off?" Havoc put in.

"More importantly, why is he using such strong Alchemy?" Hawkeye interjected. Armstrong lowered his head a little, leveling with Scar who had a slightly disturbed look on his face.

"As an alchemist, you wouldn't think it was that powerful. Isn't that right Scar?" Everyone aside from Ed, Al and Dmitri gasped in shock.

"An alchemist... you mean he's also and Alchemist?!" Mustang asked insidiously. Dmitri and Ed nodded their heads, the later scowling a little.

"Yes Colonel; if you break them up, the three major parts of transmutation are knowledge, deconstruction and recreation." Dmitri said, her lips pulling into a frown as she stared down at her blood soaked hand. "This man... he stops his transmutations at the second step... it's why all his victims look as if they've been torn apart from the inside out... it's because they had been..." A larger hand covered her own blood soaked one, blocking it from her view. Following the arm she found Ed who was watching the continuing battle closely, his brow furrowed in concentration. Another hand fell atop her head making her glance up to see Havoc, Breda and Falman standing behind her, all their gazes fixed ahead of them.

"Don't worry Lead; we won't let this bastard get away with this." Havoc said before removing his hand from her head. A shot rang out making Dmitri snap back to the fight just in time to see Scar jump back, his dark sunglasses falling from his face along with a few drops of blood.

Hawkeye huffed and cocked her riffle again. "Did you get him?!" Mustang inquired. Hawkeye shook her head, dissatisfaction evident on her face.

"He's fast. I only managed to graze him." Scar glared heatedly at all of them, a small trail of blood falling from his temple down the side of his face. Every sucking in a sharp breath when they got a good look at his eyes.

"Red eyes and brown skin..." Dmitri mumbled under her breath. "And Ishvalan?"

Scar grimaced at the sting of his wound, a disappointed frown falling on his face. "Just as I thought. I'm at a disadvantage against this many opponents..." Scar turned as if to just walk away only to stop at the sound of many cocking guns. Dmitri held up the rifle she had been given securely despite the ache she felt in her limbs.

"Hold it!" Mustang commanded. "You don't actually believe you can get away when you're surrounded, do you?" In answer to Mustangs question Scar raised his right arm high above his head, his alchemic energy erupting from it as he slammed it down into the pavement bellow him. Dmitri gasped as the ground beneath her started to crumble away. Ed reached out with his remaining arm and pulled her towards him, the two of them being knocked off balance to safety as the ground gave way completely.

It didn't take long for the dust to settle and reveal the massive hole Scar had created to gain access to his escape rout into the cities sewers. "H-he went into the sewers?!" Havoc said insidiously. Ed and Dmitri let out a breath they didn't even know they where holding. It looked like everyone had managed to avoid the collapsing road, and where in relatively good condition. That is until Ed was suddenly grabbed by the front of his tank top and shaken by a suddenly furious Dmitri.

"H-H-HEY! W-w-hat t-the h-h-e-e-llll?!" Ed said through the shaking. Dmitri stopped shaking him only to slam her forehead into his, pinning him with such dark and furious eyes it made everyone around them shuffle away.

"If you _ever_ give up on yourself like that again, I'll _kill you myself_..." she hissed out. Ed made a terrified sound, his eyes wide in shock when Dmitri suddenly hugged him around the neck, nearly knocking the two of them over again. "Y-your such an i-idiot! We just lost Nina... how could you even think of making us go on after losing you too! And where would that leave Al, you big _jerk_!" Ed blushed a little, a heavy feeling of guilt washing over him as he pat the top of her head with his remaining arm.

"H-hey... it's ok, you don't have to cry-GAH!" Dmitri punched him in the gut before standing and wiping off her face. Ed groaned and held his stomach, other officers wincing in sympathy for him.

"I'M NOT CRYING! I JUST GOT SOME RUBBLE IN MY EYES! IT'S THE RAIN DAMN IT!" She shouted making Ed wince. Dmitri turned then and stormed towards Al who made a nervous sound seeing her destination was him. "I'm going over here to see the _smart_ brother!" Ed grumbled and stood up, making his way over to Al as well. Dmitri knelt down at Al's side, inspecting the inside of his armor and letting out a little sigh. "Jeeze Al, you almost cracked your blood seal..."

"Sorry Demi..." Ed sighed, kneeling down in front of Al only to be socked in the face seconds later by said little brother. "YOU IDIOT!" Al shouted at him. "WHY DIDN'T YOU RUN AWAY WHEN WE TOLD YOU TOO?!" Ed groaned and sat up, rubbing his abused cheek.

"B-because I can't just leave you guys behind and just run away..." Ed said dejectedly. This resulted in Al punching him again.

"THAT'S WHY I CALLED YOU STUPID!"

Ed sat up, clearly angry at Al now as he sat on his knees and glared heatedly at Alphonse who was panting as if out of breath despite not having a real body. Dmitri held onto Al's shoulder, keeping him from moving anymore for fear that he might crack his armor further.

"WHAT THE HELL AL?! IF I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO GO AWAY, YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

"I MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN!" Al shouted back. "HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO STUPID LIKE CHOOSING TO DIE WHEN YOU COULD KEEP LIVING!?" Ed sat up then so that he was on his knee's, ready to take a hit on Al.

"DON'T GO UP TO YOUR BIG BROTHER AND SAY HE'S STUPID-!?" Al reached forward and grabbed Ed by his shirt front, pulling Ed up to be face to helmet with him.

"I'll say it again and again! You might find a way to restore our bodies if you survive and learn more about alchemy...!" Ed's eyes widened in shock as he hung limply in his little brothers hand. "And you... you might even find a way to save a poor little girl like Nina! But how could you toss away that possibility and pick _death_?! I ABSOLUTELY WON'T FORGIVE YOU IF YOU DO THAT! IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN-?!" Al's arm suddenly broke off allowing Ed to fall back to the ground. Ed, Al and Dmitri stared at the immobile appendage for a moment before Al started shouting again. "AW THAT'S JUST GREAT! MY ARE FELL OFF ALL BECAUSE I HAVE AN IDIOT FOR A BROTHER!"

Dmitri sighed, sitting down on the ground before falling back so she was laying between the two fighting brothers. "I give up on this day..." she mumbled to herself. Ed chuckled a little, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah... we're falling apart, huh guys..." He said earning a snort from Dmitri.

"No, we're just growing up..."

"But we're alive." Al said making Ed and Dmitri smile a little.

"Yeah... we're alive." Ed said. Dmitri hummed in agreement, her teeth starting to chatter as the adrenalin started to wear off.

"Umm guys..." she said gaining the two brothers attentions. "I-i-i t-t-think I-i've l-l-l-o-ost-t-t t-t-to m-much b-blood-d..." Dmitri said through her shivers, laughing at the look of pure horror on their faces. "E-even Al's armor feel's warm, hahahaha!"

"AHHH! Demi, you're still sick and you've been bleeding and out in this cold weather all this time!" Al shouted in a panic. Ed turned to call for Mustang only to have his vision blocked by the over muscular chest of Major Armstrong.

"MY DEAREST COUSIN! PLEASE, ALLOW ME TO WARM YOU!" Armstrong said before he bent down to scoop Dmitri up only to be stopped by her foot in his face.

"That won't be necessary." She said as she forced herself up just as Havoc placed a blanket around Ed's shoulders. "I believe Havoc already has us covered... no pun intended." Armstrong moved into a corner and sulked, his cousinly affection having been thwarted. Dmitri deadpanned as Hawkeye placed one of the larger blankets over her shoulders. "... Don't be a baby Alexander..."

* * *

And there you have it! SOOOOOOOOO LONG! Sorry for how dark these last few chapters have been, but if you are a true follower of the manga, then you know what happens next! Ed and Dmitri's relationship will take a big turn soon, but will it be for the better?


	10. Feeling Better

CHAPTER 10! Sry it took longer then normal, but I kind of hit a rut... aka I was watching a new Anime lmao

Enjoy!

* * *

"Alexander, you're embarrassing me..." Dmitri said in exasperation from her spot atop Mustang's desk as her over-sized cousin blubbered like a baby. After securing the area, Mustang had ordered everyone back to his main office to discuss their next step. Currently, they where discussing Ed's right arm or lack there of, which unfortunately lead to Armstrong's overly emotional state when he recalled the information that had been given to him via Mustang.

"I'M SORRY MY SWEET, INNOCENT LITTLE COUSIN! BUT IT IS JUST SO MOVING!" Armstrong said as he suddenly embraced Ed who immediately started panicking and trying to get away. "I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOU EDWARD ELRIC!" With a roll of her eyes Dmitri pried a grateful Ed from Armstrong's hold only to have him wrap her in an embrace and cry on her shoulder. Dmitri's left brow ticked in aggravation. "Your _pure love_ that made you try and bring back your mother! And your _mighty love_ that made you prepared to throw away your own life to transmute your little brothers soul! I AM MOVED-!" Armstrong made a move to hug Ed again only for Ed to plant his foot into Armstrong's face over Dmitri's head.

"Don't come near me." Ed said threateningly, a disturbed look on his face. Dmitri pinched the bridge of her nose, patting Ed on the leg.

"There there Ed; Alexander! Calm down would you!" Ed removed his foot and stalked over to Mustang, muttering under his breath the whole way. Dmitri turned back to Armstrong, handing him a handkerchief from inside her shirt. Armstrong took it and dabbed his eyes. "Honestly Alexander, you get yourself all worked up all the time." Armstrong sniffled a little, taking Dmitri's hands into his own (which where about the size of her head mind you).

"Dear sweet, innocent little cousin! Their story is truly tragic, one that gives birth to legends!" Armstrong turned then, placing one of his massive arms around Dmitri's shoulders. "And that is why, I shall take the responsibility of being your escort until we meet your prosthesis specialist, Edward Elric!" Ed, who had been in a heated discussion with Mustang looked up with a shocked face.

"WHAT?!" Dmitri sighed, seeing the refusal in Ed's face. "What the hell are you talking about! I don't need an Escort!" Hawkeye stepped in, ever the reasonable one.

"Edward, are you saying you're going to leave like you are now when you might be attacked by Scar again?" Ed pouted, grasping hold of his right shoulder uncertainly. "Doesn't it make sense to give you an escort who can stand up to him?" Ed shrugged, pointing a thumb towards Dmitri who blinked in surprise.

"What about Dmitri? Why can't she count as an escort?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but while I do plan on coming with you and Al, I wouldn't be a match for Scar even if I wasn't still sick. Not to mention, I don't think we could carry Al..." Dmitri looked over at Al who was sitting against the wall, somehow blushing a little. "Sorry Al."

"T-that's ok! I wouldn't wan't you to try and carry me anyways; I wouldn't want to hurt you on accident..." Al said while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Dmitri smiled and walked over to Al, patting the top of his head.

"Al, you're just too sweet!" She said making Al (some how) blush harder. Ed sighed in exasperation.

"But isn't there _anyone_ else we can take with us besides Major Armstrong?!" The room erupted in excuses for as to why nobody else could go with them making Ed's shoulders slump. Armstrong placed a commanding hand on top of Ed's head making Ed fum.

"It's decided!"

"DAMN IT!" Ed shouted, pushed Armstrong's hand off his head. "Al! Come one, back me up here!" Ed said, turning toward's Al who sniffled in reply.

"Brother! This is the first time I've been treated like a kid since I became a suit of armor!" Al said in excitement making Ed fall over in defeat. Dmitri snickered, kneeling down and pinching Ed's cheek lightly.

"Come on Ed, it won't be that bad." Ed pouted.

"Say's you! You're related to him, you _have_ to like him!" Ed complained as he swatted at her hand earning a laugh from her.

"If you insist on being unreasonable," Mustang said making Ed and Dmitri look at him. Dmitri deadpanned at the evil smirk that graced his face. "How would you like it if I gave you a court-martial for violating an order?"

"_THAT'S PLAYING DIRTY!" _Ed growled while pointing an incriminating finger at Mustang who shrugged in response.

"Call it what you will, but this _is _a direct order Fullmetal. Major Armstrong is to be your's and Lead's escort until your Automail can be fixed, is that understood." Ed sighed in defeat, moving to cross his arms over his chest only to remember that he did not have his right arm at the moment.

"Whatever..."

* * *

"Come on Ed, stop sulking!" Dmitri said as she closed her suitcase. Her and Ed and returned to the dorms to grab their bag's for the trip to Resembool, Ed's home town and the place of residence for is Mechanic Winry Rockbell. Ed huffed as he tossed his spare shirt into his own suitcase, flipping the lid shut irritably. "It's not going to be that bad. I promise to try and keep Alexander from causing to much trouble."

"Like I care what your crazy cousin does..." Ed grumbled while flinging his suitcase over his shoulder. Dmitri sighed and picked hers up as well, double checking that they have everything before following Ed out into the hall.

"I know you're not used to having to rely on others for protection, but with Scar on the loose it only makes sense to have someone there who can give us effective back up," Dmitri said, grabbing Ed's shoulder and making him turn to face her. "Normally I would be against an escort but... You saw how easy it was for Scar to take us out Ed, even with us working together. There's no way I could ever win against Scar one on one." Ed rubbed the back of his neck, a small blush dusting his cheeks.

"Like hell I'd let him touch you with a fifty foot pole..." Ed mumbled under his breath before sighing. "I know it's the reasonable thing to do, I just don't understand why it has to be your cousin. If the name of the game is stealth, then why are we bringing along a human tank who has an affinity for stripping and making loud, dramatic speeches? He'll stick out like a sore thumb!" Dmitri giggled as the two of them started walking again. She grabbed Ed's lose sleeve, wiggling it at him teasingly.

"To be honest I don't think he likes you very much Ed," Dmitri said making Ed quirk a brow at her as he moved away from the irritating sleeve wiggling. "I mean, Alexander is the only family member that I don't hate with a passion, so I've always been a little dependent on him. Seeing how well you and I get along is probably making him a little leery." Ed snorted, jerking his sleeve out of her hand.

"How well we get along? Don't you mean how well I put up with your bull shit?" Dmitri waved him off casually.

"Details. Either way, I think he just want's to keep an eye on you. After all, I am his sweet, innocent little cousin," Dmitri said with a wink before planting a small kiss to Ed's cheek and running for the front door. Ed sputtered and cursed under his breath, his cheeks turning crimson red as he took off after the laughing Dmitri.

"H-hey! Who said we could start playing that stupid game again?!"

* * *

Dmitri placed her's and Ed's luggage in the luggage rack above their seats before taking her own seat across from Armstrong and a very disgruntled Ed. Armstrong had insisted that he sit beside Ed, making Dmitri give Ed an 'I-told-you-so' look that had him blushing.

They where waiting for the train to leave. Dmitri looked around, a worry line coming to her face. "Alexander, where's Al? Didn't you bring him onto the train?" Before Armstrong could answer a knock was heard on their window making Dmitri jump a little in surprise. She smiled when she looked over though, seeing Lieutenant Colonel Hughes standing just outside their window. Ed opened the window, greeting the Lieutenant pleasantly.

"Yo!" Hughes said with a small smile.

"Hi Meas! Sorry I didn't greet you earlier, I was a little preoccupied." Dmitri said with a smile as she leaned out the window and shared a hug with Hughes.

"It's no problem Lead; I know the last few day's have been rough on you," Hughes said as he pat the top of her head. He turned to Ed then who was also leaning a little out of the window, holding onto the back of Dmitri's jacket to keep her from falling out said window. "The guy's from HQ were to busy to drop by, so they sent me here instead to see you all off. And I've brought a message from Roy." Ed quirked a questioning brow. " "Post-processing is a bit of a pain, so I will not permit you to die within my jurisdiction." That's all." Hughes said earning a grumbled from Ed and a laugh from Dmitri.

"Yeah, well tell him I said "Roger that. I will not die before you do, Colonel Shit."" Dmitri pat the top of Ed's head while snickering.

"Down boy!"

Hughes busted out laughing, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ahahaha! Wicked brats are aplenty in the world! You and that bastard Roy ought to have long lives!" Hughes leans in then much to Ed's discomfort and gives the boy a suggestive wink. "Though it seem's you've one upped him on the whole obtaining a wife, huh Fullmetal?" Ed sputtered, a light dusting of pink coming to his cheeks.

"I-I-wha-?!" Dmitri hook's her arm around Ed's shoulders, pulling him into an awkward hug (seeing as she was still leaning out the window as as such was many inches taller then him by now), nuzzling the top of his head while giving Hughes a coy smile and a wink.

"Oh Meas, you tease! You should know there's nothing but good old fashion friendship between Ed and I!" Ed growled, grasping the arm that went around his head.

"I'm going to bite you..." Dmitri pulled back enough to put her face right into Ed's, a devilish look in her eyes.

"What have I told you about teasing me?" Ed pulled away, pushing Dmitri back through the train window. His face was beet red from embarrassment, though a small smile was evident on his face. At least she was starting to act more like her usual self.

"Knock it off!" He shouted before turning to an amused Hughes with pleading eyes. "I beg of you! Don't leave me alone with these two!" Ed said while holding onto the front of Hughes uniform. Dmitri could be heard cackling like a witch from inside the train just as the whistle goes off. Ed pull's back into the train, checking the time on his pocket watch. 11am; right on time. Hughes salutes them, which they all three reciprocate (though Ed's is left handed for obvious reasons).

"Have a safe trip guys- oh! Lead, I almost forgot!" Dmitri leans out the window again as Hughes reaches into one of his pocket's and pulls out a folded up packet of papers. He hand's them to her, a soft reassuring smile pulling at his lips. "You'll want to read those over when you get the chance. I suggest doing it in private." Hughes said, whispering the last part so that only she could hear. Dmitri's brow furrowed in confusion but she gave a nod, trusting in Hughes' advice. She tucked the papers into her jacket pocket before retaking her seat, ignoring the curious look's being given to her by her cousin and partner. A moment or two later they were well on their way to Resembool.

"This will be the first time that I will meet and Automail mechanic." Armstrong said gaining Ed's attention. Dmitri nodded in agreement; she had never meet one either now that she thought about it.

"To be more accurate, she's sort of a surgeon, a prosthetic harnesser and an automail tuner." Dmitri smiled a little.

"So she's the whole package in one?" Ed nodded his head. "Sounds like my kind of girl! I can't wait to meet her, Al talks about her non-stop." Ed smiled a little, leaning back in his seat.

"She's an old friend of ours; I know she'll do a good job and cut us deal. Automail isn't cheap and is extremely difficult to make." Dmitri hummed in agreement, biting her lip a little in thought.

"Maybe I should sit in on Winry while she's working on your automail. I know I could never measure up to her expertise in it, but maybe it would be good to learn the basics for quick fixes until we can get to her for full repairs..." Dmitri said absentmindedly. Ed furrowed his brow in thought; Dmitri had a point. What if something happened and he wasn't able to get to Winry right away?

"What sort of place is this Resembool?" Armstrong asked breaking Ed and Dmitri from their thoughts. Ed shrugged, glancing out the window.

"It's an amazing village. Ain't nothing there." Ed said casually, propping his head up on his left hand. "Because of the east area civil war, stuff didn't happen there anymore. If the army had done a better job, there might have been more development going on down there." A pause followed after Ed's words, a small bead of sweat appearing on Armstrong's forehead.

"... I don't like the sound of that." Ed deadpanned.

"Want me to go on?" Dmitri nodded, kicking Armstrong's shin and giving him a scolding look. "Well, i's a really quiet place..." Ed said, a calm smile coming to his face as he thought back to his old home town and the people that lived there. Would they even recognize him? Would any of his old neighbors still be there? "There's nothing there, but it has a lot of stuff that cities are missing." Dmitri smiled, bouncing excitedly in her chair.

"I for one and excited to go! I've only ever gone to small towns to try and gather information, and I was raised in Eastern, so big city life is really all I know." Armstrong smiled a little at her.

"Then this should be quite the adventure for us all!" Ed turned and gave Armstrong an irritable look all of a sudden.

"That reminds me; you _did_ put Al on this train, didn't you." Dmitri's eyes widened; she had forgotten to ask again seeing as she was interrupted by Hughes earlier. Armstrong chuckled, rubbing his chin and smiling triumphantly.

"Indeed he is here!" He said dramatically making Dmitri deadpan. "I placed him in the livestock car! The large luggage car seemed so lonely and dark, I figured the sheep on board could keep him company!" Dmitri could practically hear the gears in Ed's head come to a screeching halt as he digested what Armstrong had said.

"_Alexander..._" Dmitri hissed out, her hands palling into fists at her side.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK MY LITTLE BROTHER WAS!?" Ed exploded, appalled that his dear little brother was forced to ride as a piece of luggage; worse, as a piece of livestock! Armstrong looked highly taken aback by Ed's furry.

"Why are you not happy! IT'S LARGE, CHEAP AND LIVELY! DOES HE NOT HAVE EVERYTHING HE WOULD WANT?" Armstrong said dramatically. Ed brandished a fist at him.

"**STOP SCREWING AROUND!**" Dmitri stood up, pinning Armstrong with a dark glare. Ed stopped mid rant, his own face paling in fear at the promise of death in her eyes. Armstrong showed little concern aside from the cold sweat that suddenly beaded his forehead.

"Alexander Louise Armstrong! Do you mean to tell me that you left a _14_ year old boy _alone_ in a box car full of _sheep!?" _Dmitri asked, her hands falling onto her hips.

"Y-yes...?" Dmitri's look only darkened making Ed and Armstrong quake in their seats.

"The first stop we come to, you are going to get Al and bring him to _this_ booth... do I make myself clear?" Dmitri said in a deadly tone. Armstrong nodded once making Dmitri sigh and sit back down, crossing her arms and legs hotly. "Honestly Alexander, sometimes I wonder what goes through that head of your's..."

Ed and Armstrong glanced at each other nervously, conveying with a single glance 'never piss Dmitri off again'.

* * *

"Oh Alphonse!" Dmitri cried out when Armstrong opened the livestock box car. Al sat in a wooden crate, surrounded by sheep who all seemed interested in licking him. Dmitri jumped into the box car and hugged his head. "I'm _soooooo_ sorry for my cousin's idiocy!" Armstrong reached into the box car and pulled both Al and Dmitri out at the same time, hoisting Al onto his shoulder. Ed twitched as Dmitri continued to wail dramatically, drawing disturbed gazes from all around them.

"Uhh, i-it's ok Demi, really!"

"AND LOOK AT THE WHEEL'S ON THIS CART!" Dmitri said making Ed, Al and Armstrong glance down at the wheel's. They looked like standard box car wheel's to them. "Such a rough ride..." Dmitri pulled Al's helmet back, checking on the crack that had been so dangerously close to Al's blood seal. It didn't look like it had gotten any closer to the seal making Dmitri let out a sigh of relief. "Every bump in the road made my heart stop! We'll be sure to bring you with us on the passenger cart when we leave again, ok?" Al merely nodded in agreement after Dmitri replaced his helmet and jumped down to the ground. Ed rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I didn't even think about the damage reaching his seal..." Ed said worriedly. "Sorry Al..."

"It's ok brother! I never thought about it either until Demi brought it up during our fight against Scar." Al said as Dmitri, Ed and Armstrong started walking down the station platform. They had a few hours to kill until the next train left for Resembool and had decided to stretch their legs out a little bit. "She's been keeping a close eye on it for me since I can't see it for myself..."

Dmitri chuckled and pat Ed's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Ed; you had something a little more dangerous happening at the time. Or have you forgotten the mad man who was about to blow your brain u-!" Dmitri paused as she suddenly bumped into a villager, nearly knocking the two of them over. Ed grabbed her shoulder to keep her steady. "AH! S-sorry, I wasn't watching where I was walking." The villager, a man who looked to be pushing sixty, smiled gently and shook his head.

"No, no- I'm the one who should apologize; this is what I get for reading while I wal-"

"Dr. Marcoh?!" Armstrong suddenly said, making the villager look his way for the first time. A look of confusion and then recognition filtered across his face before it took on a look of pure horror. " Are you not Dr. Marcoh!? It's me, Alex Louis Armstrong from Central!" Dmitri and Ed glanced between Armstrong and this so called doctor, who looked terrified.

"Umm... Alexander? Do you know this man-?!" The alleged doctor suddenly turned tail and ran with all his might in the direction he had been originally heading. "He's... fast for a old man..." Dmitri said with a sweat-drop. Ed nodded while Armstrong sighed.

"You know him?" Ed inquired to Armstrong who nodded in answer.

"Yes, he is a very capable alchemist from an alchemic research agency of central. He took part in research to use alchemy for medical purposes, but disappeared after the civil war..." Ed frowned a bit before huffing and turning on his heel, heading off in the same direction as Dr. Marcoh.

"Ed?" Dmitri asked him as she jogged after him leaving Armstrong to trail behind a bit. "What's up?"

"I'm going to have a word with the good Doctor of course." Ed said as they exited the platform. "If that guy was part of the research division in Central, he might know something about biological transmutation." Ed said making Dmitri frown, but nod.

"We'll have to ask around for him; he's long gone by now..." Dmitri said thoughtfully. She stopped suddenly making Armstrong nearly slam into her back. Dmitri looked over her shoulder at the train they had just exited, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She could feel eyes on her but... the platform was empty aside from a few strangers who where just retrieving the luggage.

"Dmitri?" Armstrong said making Ed stop and glance over his shoulder.

"Hey, what's up Dmitri?" He asked curiously making Dmitri shake her head and turn back to their small mission.

"It's nothing..." She said uncertainly. Ed quirked a brow at her, not believing her for a moment but decided to leave it alone. Ed turned and started walking again with Dmitri and Armstrong (who was still carrying Al on his shoulder) trailing a little behind him. Dmitri glanced over her shoulder again, the feeling of being watched fading away the further they got from the train station. Maybe she had imagined it... with a flick of her wrist she pulled the hood of the black jacket up, covering her head and face from all that they passed. Armstrong frowned when he saw her actions; something had shaken her up, and that didn't sit well with him.

"Let us get our search under way! We should not linger to long, or risk missing our train!" Armstrong said enthusiastically making Ed smirk. Armstrong stopped by a group of villagers, setting Al down on the ground as Ed approached them asking about Marcoh. Dmitri hung back by Al, leaning against the side of his crate, her eyes darting around edgily.

"Hey there, did you see someone that passed by earlier...erm..." Ed scratched the side of his neck, unsure of how to go about asking about the elusive doctor. Armstrong suddenly appeared at his side, holding up a sketch book with a _very_ life like portrait of Dr. Marcoh drawn on one of it's pages. Ed stared at the image insidiously, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Did this elderly man pass by?" Armstrong asked while showing the villagers the portrait. They all inspected it, recognition lighting up their faces with wide smiles.

"Y-you're sure good at drawing Major Armstrong..." Ed mumbles out as the villages pass the image around themselves. Armstrong held his head nobly, pride shinning across his shoulders and face.

"This is the artistry that has been passed down from generation to generation of the Armstrong family!" Armstrong turned then towards Dmitri who gave him a dead panned look. "Why, even my estranged, sweet innocent little cousin has talent; her expertise far outshines my own!" Dmitri sighed when Ed and Al gave her shocked looks.

"Alexander..." She said in exasperation.

"Oh, that's Dr. Maulo!" One the the villagers said making the others nod. Armstrong and Ed gave the villagers slightly confused looks.

"Maulo?" Armstrong questioned under his breath. The villagers wen't on to describe all the good their Dr. Maulo has done for their poor town.

"As you can see, everyone's poor in this town. We don't have money to get any doctors, the Dr. Maulo said he doesn't care about any of that." A man in his mid thirties said making the other villagers nod once again. " He's a good man! He won't abandon a patient no matter what, and even takes on patients that everyone thinks has absolutely no chance of being saved." Another man chimed in then, slapping his right leg vigorously.

"When my leg got caught up in a tractor and it looked like I was a goner, he fixed it up just like new!" He said making Ed and gang's eyes widen in shock. Accidents like that in a town like this would spell amputation, if not even death. "It was quite a spectacle; when he healed me, I thought there was this bright flash and then, poof! My leg was good as new!"

Ed glanced over his shoulder at Dmitri who shrugged her shoulders; she had never dealt with medical alchemy aside from her hip, and she wasn't really sure how her doctor had managed _that_. "Do you know where we can find him? You see, he's an old pal of ours; we'd like to pay him a visit before we leave on our next train." Dmitri said gaining the attention of the villagers. The middle aged man smiled and nodded.

"Sure do little lady!" Dmitri frowned; she wasn't _that_ small... "What you wanna do..."

* * *

After following the villagers directions, the four travlers found themselves standing bellow a set of stone stairs that lead up to second floor apartment of a stone building. "This must be it..." Ed mumbled as they made their way up the stairs. "So why did he run away? And what's with this fake name?" Ed asked Armstrong who shrugged his shoulders.

"We the doctor disappeared, I head that some important classified files also disappeared. There was a rumor that the doctor stole them." Armstrong said making Dmitri nod her head.

"He must have thought that we were agents of the research agency." She said. Armstrong nodded his head in agreement as they came to the door. Ed reached out and knocked on the door, surprised when it creaked open upon touch.

"Um... hello-!?" Dmitri knocked Ed's feet out from under him and struck out, pushing the revolver, which had been aimed at Ed's head, up towards the sky just as the trigger was pulled. With quick movements Dmitri was able to take the gun away from Dr. Marcoh, pointing it at him cocked and ready. "W-what the hell!" Ed shouted, still recovering from his shock as he pushed himself up off the ground.

Dr. Marcoh held his hands up, his whole body shaking with fear as Dmitri pushed her way into the small apartment with a blank face, her eyes promising death if Marcoh should make the wrong move again. "W-WHAT DO YOU W-WANT?! What did you come here for!?" Armstrong, who was still carrying Al, raised a reassuring hand in an attempt to defuse the situation.

"Please calm down, doctor." He said making Marcoh shake even harder.

"_Did you come to take me back?!_" Marcoh shouted, taking a small step away from them. "I-I don't want to go back there! Please! Just let me be...!"

"That's not true. Please listen to what I have to say." Armstrong said in a slightly louder voice.

"T-THEN- DID YOU COME HERE TO SILENCE ME BY KILLING ME!?" Marcoh asked, pointing at Dmitri who was still aiming his own gun at him. "Did you bring this assassin to do me in?!" Dmitri frowned.

"You attempted to shoot my partner point blank with no warning..." she said blandly making Marcoh's breath hitch. "Maybe I should shoot you..." Armstrong sighed, his shoulder slumping.

"Lead, perhaps you should put the gun down so we can discuss this civilly..."

"I WON'T BE FOOLED! YOU'RE HERE TO KILL M-!?" Armstrong suddenly threw Al and his crate at Marcoh, knocking him to the ground. Ed watched all of this with horror on his face.

"**I said to calm down!**" Armstrong growled out making Ed and Al break out into a cold sweat despite the tone being aimed elsewhere. As goofy as he was, Major Armstrong was still a very intimidating man. "Lead, put the gun down." Dmitri scoffed and opened the chamber, showing it to be empty.

"Like I could do any damage anyways. He was ignorant and sought to take us all on with a single shot..." she said, tossing the gun onto the small kitchen table that sat behind Marcoh's twitching form. "And did you _have_ to use Al as a projectile? What if his armor cracked more?!"

"Yeah, no shit!" Ed shouted as him and Dmitri dragged Al off of Marcoh before helping the doctor to his feet. "Now, Dr. Marcoh... we have a few questions to ask you..."

* * *

"I couldn't bare to do it..." Marcoh said, holding his head in his hands. They had managed to get him to sit at the kitchen table with them. Dmitri was making them all some relaxing tea in an effort to calm the good doctors nerves. "Even thoug it was an order from above, to be made to dirty my hands on it, I..." Dmitri glanced over her shoulder as she pulled a couple cups from the shelf. "And then it was used at the east area civil war as a tool for mass murder..." Dmitri places the cups on the table, pouring Dr. Marcoh a gracious amount earning a small nod of thanks from the doctor as he took a few small sips from the the steaming cup. Dmitri served Armstrong and Ed before sitting between Ed and Al.

"From what I heard through my line of work, the battles fought where truly horrendous." Dmitri said as she prepared her own tea. Marcoh nodded, folding his hands together around his steaming cup of tea.

"Indeed... there were far to many innocent bystanders who were killed..." Ed fingered the edge of his cup, a deep frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. Dmitri placed a reassuring hand on the top of Al's head as he let out a surprised gasp. "What I have done... I cannot atone for by simply taking my life. So, in an attempt to wash away my guilt I travel from town to town acting as a doctor until it is no longer safe. If I stay in one place for to long... who know what calamity I could bring down upon these poor people." Armstrong set his tea down, fixing Dr. Marcoh with an insistent stare.

"Just what did you research? The documents you took with you... what were they?" Marcoh set his head in his hands once again, a look of pure agony coming over his face.

"I... I made the philosopher's stone." Marcoh said. Everyone in the room gasped in shock. Ed's eyes grew wide as the incredibility of his words sank in. "The research files and a single stone are what I took with me."

"Y-you have a stone?!" Ed practically shouted. Marcoh sighed and stood from the table, walking over to a cabinet and opening it's glass door.

"Yes..." He reached deep into the back of the cabinet, pulling out a single vial with what looked to be a red liquid inside of it. "It's in here..." Marcoh uncapped the vial making the red liquid inside it swish around.

"A stone... but, it's liqu..." Marcoh poured the red liquid out onto the table where it seemed to solidify into a perfectly smooth stone much to Ed and other's surprise. He reached out and poked it tentatively, startling when it rippled; it was still very much a liquid.

"The philosophers stone, the celestial stone, the great elixir, the red tincture, the fifth element..." Dmitri said insidiously. "Of course... just as the philosophers stone has many names... it only makes sense that it should have many different forms." Dmitri said as she to reached out and ran her finger over the surface of the liquid, shivering a little at the strange texture it gave off. It was cold and gel like, but still hard.

"Yes. However, they remained experimental creations up until the end. Imperfect objects that will eventually reach their limitations and become unusable." Marcoh said as he ushered the strange liquid back into its vial. "And yet, they were used secretly during the civil war, and their overwhelming power was demonstrated."

Ed seemed to get lost in thought for a moment before he smirked. "Even though you're saying they're an imperfect creation, making it means that with further research, we might be able to produce a perfect one..." He said with barely restrained excitement. "Mr. Marcoh, can you show me the research files you took!?"

"W-what?" Dr. Marcoh said in surprise before turning to Armstrong. "What- Major Armstrong, who are these children?"

"National Alchemist's."

Marcoh sighed, laying his head in his hands. "Does their depravity have no end? Children... to obtain enormous research funding. You were probably lured in by its privileges and obtained a license. What foolishness!" Marcoh said earning a heated glare from Dmitri. "After the civil war, how many practitioners do you think there were that couldn't bare to remain being human weapons and relinquished their licenses!? And yet, you still-"

"I know it was a stupid decision!" Ed shouted, cutting in to Marcoh's rant. "But Until I accomplish my objectives, I'm going to have to continue to sit on this bed of thorns!" Ed unconsciously held onto his right shoulder. Dmitri placed a hand on Ed's other shoulder and Al's head, her glare just as intense as Ed's as she addressed Marcoh.

"With all due respect doctor, you know _nothing_ of why any of us chose the path's we are on. So I would appreciate it if you didn't judge us as you would your average children." Marcoh seemed a little taken aback by Dmitri's hard tone, his eyes moving between the three of them speculatively.

"... So... you ignored the ban..." he said after a moment making all three teen's tense up. "I was surprised. I didn't believe it possible to transmute the soul of a particular person... you might be able to create a perfect philosophers stone." He said solemnly.

"So, you'll show us the research?" Dmitri asked. Marcoh stood and moved to put the vial back in it's original home.

"No. I cannot show you the files."

"What?! But you just said-" Marcoh interrupted Ed's rant with a hard, dominating stare.

"This the end of the discussion. Go home. I cannot let you have the stone," Marcoh stared directly at Dmitri. "I don't know what _you_ want with it young lady as you somehow managed to escape your own attempt to play god unscathed but as for you two boys, to use the stone for something as minor as restoring your bodies-" Ed jumped up then, his hand slamming down on the table.

"_Minor!?_" Armstrong interjected then, hoping to defuse the situation once again. Dmitri stood along side Ed, her hands balled into fists at her side.

"You really are ignorant aren't you?! I came out unscathed because I wasn't the one who performed-"

"Dmitria." Armstrong growled out making Dmitri go stock still. Ed and Al stared at her with wide eyes. Dmitri took a deep breath and a step back, trying hard to calm her nerves. A stiff silence fell over the room.

"... It is better if you didn't see it." Marcoh said after a moment, breaking the tense silence. "That's the research of the devil. Once you know about it... you'll see the very face of hell." Dmitri shuddered as a blank white face with gleaming teeth flashed across her memory. Yeah, who would have thought that the face of hell would be so empty...

"... we've already seen hell, doctor." Dmitri said in a deathly quite voice. "We all saw it a long time ago! And we are forced to see it, to relive it every single day!" Another stiff silence filled the room.

"... I can't. Please... go home." Marcoh said making Ed grind his teeth. He moved to speak again but was stopped by a soft hand pulling at his shoulder. He looked over said shoulder to see Dmitri who shook her head at him with a frown.

"... very well... let's go boys. We are cutting it close with the train." Dmitri said. Ed huffed and complied, heading for the front door. Armstrong scooped Al up off the floor. Dmitri held the door open for Ed and Armstrong. She paused in the door way as she went to leave, glancing over her shoulder at Marcoh's back. "...thank you for your time doctor. We appreciate all you were able to tell us..." She said solemnly before exiting the apartment and closing the door behind her.

* * *

Ed, Armstrong and Dmitri all sat at the train station awaiting their next train that would take them to Resembool. Ed and Armstrong sat on a bench while Dmitri leaned against Al's crate, playing with her hair absentmindedly.

"Is this really fine with you?" Armstrong asked drawing the teen's attentions.

"Huh...?" Ed said.

"While you wouldn't have been able to see the files, you could have quickly taken the stone by force..." Dmitri sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. She knew they could have just stolen the stone, but...

"Hell yeah... I really, _really_, wanted it!" Ed said irritably. "But... then I remembered the people we met on the way to Dr. Marcoh's house. Even if we restored our bodies by robbing this town of its life support, it'd just leave a nasty aftertaste." Ed grimaced at the thought.

Dmitri laughed then, looping her arms around Ed's shoulders from behind the bench much to his embarrassment. "We'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open for another way then, right?" She asked him and Al. Ed sighed and nodded while Al answered with an enthusiastic 'yep'. Dmitri stood straight then, leaving her hands to rest gently on Ed's shoulders. "But are you alright with this Alexander? You didn't report on Dr. Marcoh..." Ed and Al both looked expectantly at Armstrong who simply nodded his head.

"The man I met today was only a town doctor name Maulo." Dmitri smiled a little, proud of her cousin's sense of justice. It was one of the reasons she adored him above all others in her family... Ed smile and let out a little chuckle.

"Gonna have to start from scratch again." He said as he leaned his head back to stare up at the sky. "Man, this is a really long road." Dmitri and Al hummed in agreement, with Dmitri leaning over a little so she could look down on Ed's face, a few stray strands of her hair falling loose from her braid and tickling his forehead.

"But at least we have each other, right?" Ed brushed the stray hairs off his forehead, a small smile pulling at his mouth.

"Yeah..." Armstrong's brow ticked a little while Al giggled at the small display of affection. Armstrong opened his mouth as if to speak only to be interrupted by a shout.

"Hey!" Ed and Dmitri broke eye contact to see who had shouted only to see a winded Marcoh making his way onto the platform. Ed and Armstrong stood as Marcoh made his way over to them, handing Ed an envelope. "This... is the place where the research files are hidden. Look inside this envelope, if you won't regret knowing the truth... and if it's you, you will uncover the truth behind the truth." Ed gave him a questioning look to which Marcoh shook his head. "No. I've already said to much. And I am sorry... for being blind to your reasons." Marcoh looked directly at Dmitri when he said this making her smile and wave her hand at him.

"Thank you Dr. Marcoh; for everything." Dmitri said with a slight bow. "We should have tea again the next time we see each other." Marcoh smile a little and nodded.

"Of course..." he turned then, waving over his shoulder. "I pray that you will restore yourselves to how you once were one day." Armstrong sniffled, tears running down his cheeks as he gave Marcoh's back a strong salute. Ed bowed in thanks, staying that way for a moment before straightening himself once more a smile stretched over his lips.

* * *

An hour or so later found Dmitri, Ed, Armstrong and Al sitting on a train headed for Resembool. They took up two whole benches in order to fit Al, but there weren't to many people present on the train. Ed was currently sleeping in the booth with his brother while Dmitri and Armstrong occupied their second booth. Dmitri stared out the window, her fingers drumming on the table top that separated herself and Armstrong..._ Central library, huh?... hiding a tree in a forest... Marcoh couldn't have picked a better hiding spot-_

"Dmitri?" Armstrong said, suddenly breaking Dmitri from her thoughts. "About these travel arrangements..." Dmitri sighed, slumping into her seat. "You know we need to discuss this. I'm not sure how I feel about you traveling alone with these two boys. It seem's they are getting involved with some strange, and potentially dangerous things."

"Alexander, I am traveling with them under orders from Roy." Armstrong crossed his arms over his chest.

"Its just... your interactions with Fullmetal..." Dmitri's shoulders went ridged.

"Their nothing." Dmitri said in a clipped voice making Armstrong's brows raise in surprise.

"You're getting defensive, so forgive me for not believing you..." Dmitri stayed silent, her eyes fixated to the passing scenery. Armstrong let out a long sigh. "You can say that it's nothing... but I saw the look in both your eyes earlier at the station." Again Dmitri left him in silence making him frown. "Perhaps I _am_ reading to much into things-"

"You are."

"-But you seem to be... changing because of them. You're relaxed around them; more so then you ever where with your own family." Dmitri let out a long breath, her eyes softening as they slid from the view outside to the top of the table lazily.

"...I can't explain what I- have you ever met someone, that seemed to... make everything alright?" Armstrong sighed, shaking his head with a small smile on his face. "Ed... those two boys... I can't explain what I see in them. It's... just the way they can take me to a place that no one else can. They make me feel... wanted. Needed... like it would matter to them if I disappeared one day."

Armstrong nodded his head. "I see. I am truly envious of you my sweet cousin." Armstrong stood and grabbed Dmitri up in a bone crushing hug. "_TO HAVE FOUND SUCH A PURE LOVE AT YOUR AGE! YOU ARE TRULY BLESSED!_"

"W-w-what?! WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT LOVE!?" Dmitri shouted, her face fire engine red. Ed woke up from all the commotion, glaring irritably at the two cousins.

"What are you two freaks doing?!" He yelled, gaining their attention. Big mistake on his part as Armstrong dropped Dmitri and grabbed Ed by the front of his coat, pulling him up to Armstrong's full height and staring at him with piercing blue eyes.

"Your oath, Edward Elric!" Ed sputtered in shock.

"W-what the hell!? What are you doing!?"

"Your oath! Swear on your life, or I will not allow this game to go on any longer!" Ed broke out in a cold sweat. What was this crazy man talking about?!

"Umm... what am I swearing to again...?" Armstrong set Ed down before pulling a mortified Dmitri over and shoving her into Ed.

"I wan't your oath, Edward Elric, that you will keep my sweet innocent cousin safe. That you will treat her as she treats you, and that you will _never_ be anything but gentlemanly towards her!" Ed scrunched up his nose in confusion.

"What the hell did I miss while I was sleeping...?" Ed mumbled to Dmitri who was hiding her face behind her hands.

"You don't want to know..." She moaned out making Ed sigh.

"I will not ask you again Fullmetal; if you can not give me your oath, then I will be forced to take Dmitri back to central _with out you._" Ed growled, pushing Armstrong back enough to put himself between Armstrong and Dmitri.

"Like hell you will!" Ed pointed a finger directing in Armstrong's face. "Listen here Major, the only person who is allowed to decide weather or not Dmitri leaves is Dmitri herself! And anybody who thinks otherwise is going to have to answer to me! It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever allow anyone to force Dmitri to do something against her will again!" Armstrong stared down at Ed with wide eyes. Dmitri allowed her hands to fall down from her face, a small smile pulling at her lips.

"Is that your oath, Fullmetal?" Armstrong asked sternly. Ed scowled.

"FINE! I swear, ok?!" Ed said while throwing his hands up in the air. "I promise; so long as Dmitri is by my side, I'll do everything within my power to protect her! But just know that that includes protecting her from you, or anyone else who thinks they rule over her." Armstrong and Ed stare each other down for a long time, neither one willing to back down first. But then Armstrong laughs and claps Ed on his shoulder.

"Congratulations Edward Elric! Your oath has been accepted! You are now free to date my cousin!" Armstrong said before sniffling and grabbing a shocked Ed up in a hug. "MY SWEET, INNOCENT COUSIN HAS HER FIRST BOYFRIEND! I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE THIS DAY!"

"Alexander!" Dmitri said in mortification. Al was laughing right out at the terrified look on Ed's face.

"W-what?! WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST AGREE TO!?"

* * *

lmao XD there's the end of chapter 10 hahahahaha! I love Armstrong; he's personally one of my favorite characters XD


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